Easier Than Love
by Lady Kea
Summary: Complete. MxS AxK IxKa RxS Kagome & Inuyasha were high school sweethearts but went their separate ways to pursue their careers. Kagome is now a model living in Italy and Inuyasha is a popular actor. What happens when they see each other after 5 years?
1. The First Love

**Disclaimer: still don't own anything.**

_Authoress' Note: I'm also trying something new by making this fic set in the present. So yeah, enjoy!_

**Easier Than Love  
**_Chapter One_

The couple embraced at the terminal. The final boarding call was announced as their embrace broke.

"Good luck Kags…I know that you will go far." Inuyasha whispered into her ear.

"Thank you. I know you will go far too Inuyasha. I love you. And I always will love you."

They kissed for what could have been the last time and Kagome picked up her carry-on suitcase and walked through the terminal. She turned and blew him a kiss and finally boarded the plane.

And that was the last time they ever saw each other.

**-Five years later-**

"That's right! Work it Kagome! We're getting gold here!" the photographer yelled to Kagome as she spun in her dress, "All right! I think we got the shot!" he called and Kagome stopped.

She slid off the six inch Gucci stilettos and walked over to the photographer.

"How does the film look?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Amazing, as usual. I swear Kagome, this is so natural for you, look how amazing these pictures are!"

Kagome smiled, she now knew why Paolo was her favorite photographer.

"I told you, you're going places kid! Let me tell you! Soon you'll be on every runway in Europe!" he told her, "Now go get changed out of that and take the rest of the day off. You definitely deserve it!"

"All right. I'll see you at the shoot tomorrow Paolo!" she called as she walked to her dressing room.

She slipped out of the light blue sundress and put it back on the rack where it belonged. She put her dark wash jeans on and then put on the tan cami and white cardigan she had come in wearing. She slipped into her brown wedges and grabbed her brown sun hat, putting it on as she grabbed her purse and walked out into the Italian sun.

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"Come on! It'll be fun!" Miroku begged.

Inuyasha looked at his friend with a look of disgust, "Are you serious Miroku? Why would you think I would go to Europe with you?"

"Because I don't want to go alone, that's why!"

Miroku Kashi was one of the foremost rising photographers in the business, as famous as he was for his photography; he was equally famous as being the best friend of one of the world's most popular new actors. Miroku had been asked by Versace to photograph their summer line in Italy; which was an incredible honor. As much as Miroku wanted to go, he didn't want to go alone.

"Inuyasha, think of the possibilities!" Miroku said; trying everything he could to convince his friend.

"Like what? Being in a country not knowing the language and not knowing where I am? That sounds like quite the party if I do say so myself."

"Inuyasha stop it. You're acting like such a d-bag. Think of it this way…Kagome is in Italy now isn't she?"

Inuyasha had heard anyone talk about Kagome in years, but that didn't meant that he had stopped thinking about her. He thought about her everyday, even when he didn't want to. Nobody knew that Inuyasha's biggest fear is that Kagome had forgotten him.

"Miroku, I know that Italy is considered a small country…but what are the odds of me finding Kagome? I'm not even sure that she is still in Italy!"

"She is Inuyasha. Look at this." Miroku said, handing him a catalog of Gucci's spring line; adorning the cover was a very happy looking Kagome.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, "I knew she would make it, I knew it. All right, I'll go with you. But you owe me big time!"

Miroku laughed, "Of course I do. But thanks for coming."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow night, you better start packing."

"You're a bastard you know that right?" Inuyasha asked with a smirk.

"Always."

-------

Kagome walked all the way back to her apartment. Normally she would have taken a cab but the weather was so beautiful it was practically begging her to walk. As she approached her building she dug through her purse to find her keys. By the time she got to her door she had pulled the keys out of her purse and she opened the door.

As she was about to walk in she heard someone call her name from behind her. Knowing it had to have been some kind of paparazzi she plastered on a big smile, turned around for one picture and then walked into her building, slamming the door behind her.

She walked up the stairs to her apartment and walked in. dropping all of her things on an armchair and slipping out of her shoes she walked over to the French doors that lead out to a balcony and threw them open. The room was instantly filled with the fresh Italian air and it soothed Kagome in ways nothing had before.

She then walked over to the stereo and turned it on. The Shins' "New Slang" came flowing out of the speakers and Kagome couldn't help herself, she began to dance like an idiot around her apartment. After a couple songs worth of dancing she heard keys rattling in the lock of the apartment.

The door opened and one of Kagome's roommates walked in.

"Kagome what are you doing?" Sango asked, having just seen her dancing around the room.

Kagome shrugged, "It's so nice outside that the weather inspires me to be crazy!"

Sango smiled and shook her head, "Only you Kags, only you."

Sango had come to Italy a year before Kagome had in hopes of becoming a fashion photographer. As luck would have it more people were impressed with her looks than her photography. She became a model in the same year Kagome had started but became famous much faster than most models do. Sango had walked the runways during Paris' and Milan's fashion weeks and it was because of that Kagome looked up to Sango so much.

"Did you have a shoot today?" Sango asked as she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Yeah, it was a summer preview shoot for Gucci. The dress I wore was amazing. I wanted to keep it. But I have a feeling if the film comes out as well as Paolo said it did I'll be getting my fair share of Gucci's summer line." Kagome said with a sense of satisfaction as she plopped herself on one of the armchairs in the living room.

Sango closed the fridge and walked into the living room, sitting on a chair next to Kagome.

"What about you Sango? Did you have a shoot?"

"I didn't. But I went to about ten go-sees, which went incredibly well."

"Amazing!" Kagome said, happy for her friend, "Do you know when Ayame is getting back from her shoot? I want to go out for an early dinner tonight; to celebrate all of our success."

Sango shrugged, "I'm not positive. But it should be soon."

Just as Sango said that the door swung open revealing Ayame, holding not only her purse, but at least five large shopping bags.

"Wow, Prada must have loved you" Kagome said, standing up to help Ayame with the bags.

Ayame, unlike Sango and Kagome, was not originally from Japan. You could easily tell from her red hair and green eyes where she was from. Ayame moved from her home in Cork, Ireland to Milan Italy when she was sixteen years old. After living in Italy for over seven years, she was only Irish in blood and looks. She was the only one out of the three of them that was fluent in Italian, although Kagome and Sango were both proficient. She was also the only one with a steady boyfriend. Kagome had met Ayame at her very first Prada shoot and they instantly clicked. More of an ad model than a runway model; Ayame had been the face of Prada for two years now.

"Yes, and they were being more generous than usual today. Maybe it's because they called me in early and made me stay late. Or maybe it's just because they love me." Ayame said with a smile, throwing her long red hair over her shoulder.

"Can we look?" Sango asked, getting out of her chair.

"Of course. And I hope you girls are planning on going out tonight because all of these clothes are just begging to be worn!"

"I was actually going to ask you to go out for a celebration dinner with Sango and I; just because everything's been going so well for us."

"I would love it! Is it okay if Kouga comes too?" she asked, digging through the bags with Sango.

Kouga Misaki was not only a famous photographer, but an up and coming designer as well. He met Ayame on her first day of being the face of Prada and they had been together pretty much ever since.

"It's all right with me" Kagome said, looking at Sango.

Sango nodded, "Yeah, that's fine. He's always fun to be around; especially when he acts as if he's dating us all."

Ayame laughed, "Yeah…he's something else all right. I'm just not sure what else."

"Well Kags, I think it's about time we found ourselves some men!" Sango said, going over to her portfolio briefcase and pulling out an entertainment magazine, "We need men like this one! Ouch! He's on fire!" she said with a giggle.

Kagome stared at the magazine in awe. Staring back at her was Inuyasha, the man she left for modeling over five years ago. She snatched the magazine from Sango's hands and began flipping through the magazine until she reached the story on Inuyasha.

_I knew you would make it Yash. I knew you would_. She thought to herself as she read the interview. There were the standard questions; _how long did you want to act? What was your childhood like?_ But there was one question and answer that took Kagome by complete surprise.

**"International Entertainment: **Is there a woman in your life? Have you ever been in love?  
**Inuyasha Kimura: **I have been in love before. I was with my high school sweetheart throughout all of high school but we broke it off when she went to pursue modeling in Italy. Although there is no woman in my life right now, she will always be the one that got away, I think about her all the time."

_That's me. _Kagome thought, _he still thinks about me, after all these years he still thinks about me._

Without realizing it Kagome had begun to cry. Tears rolled down her face and onto Sango's open magazine. She had thought about Inuyasha from time to time but had assumed he had moved on after becoming famous…but she had been wrong.

-------

"Miroku, what if I can't find her? I know that with the whole photographer thing it should be easy for you to find her…but what if I can't find her?" Inuyasha asked, actually wanting to find Kagome on the trip.

"Hey Inuyasha…there's this new invention called a telephone. Why don't you call her?" Miroku suggested as he packed up the rest of his things.

"But…but…" Inuyasha stammered.

"Listen Inuyasha. Either you cut the crap and call her, or you don't complain if you don't see her in Italy."

Inuyasha pulled his phone out of his pocket, after five years he still remembered her phone number. He took a deep breath and dialed the number. 9-5-5-1-4-7-9

_Please answer Kagome._

-------

Kagome was getting dressed when she heard her phone ringing in the living room. She ran into the living room and looked at the caller ID and she couldn't believe what it said. The word on her phone simply read "Inuyasha"

Kagome pressed "TALK" and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Kags? It's Inuyasha. Sure has been a while hasn't it?" he said and that's when he heard a dial tone as Kagome lost control of her muscles and dropped the phone. She fell to her knees and began to cry as she stared at the phone.

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_Authoress' Note: What do you think? Good…bad…okay? Let me know!_


	2. The Celebration

**Disclaimer: I only own my ideas, not Inuyasha.**

_Authoress' Note: Oh my goodness! I am completely floored by the amount of feedback I've received. My goal is to double reviews each chapter, so tell your friends! I hope you enjoy this!_

_P.S. this is usually a lot faster than I update. But the ideas keep coming so I keep writing. And it seems cruel to not post a completed chapter if enough people are waiting for it._

_ENJOY!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Two_

Sango and Ayame found Kagome sitting on the floor of the living room crying while looking at her cell phone, which lay on the floor a few feet in front of her

Sango rushed to her friend's side, kneeling next to her, "Kags are you all right? What's wrong?"

Kagome shook her head and wiped her eyes. "Don't worry about me. It's just hormones and whatnot. I'll go get dressed now." She said, standing up and walking into her bedroom.

Sango couldn't understand what had just happened. She looked to Ayame, who had been standing in the kitchen.

"Don't look at me" Ayame said, "I don't understand her half the time anyways. But I think we should get ready to go out."

Sango nodded, "Yeah, it would probably be the best thing to cheer Kagome up. Not that she will ever tell us what she was crying about."

"Yeah, that is true. But let's focus on getting ready now. Did you leave a bag in my room?"

"Yeah, I left it right inside your door. I didn't want to risk entering the war zone!" Ayame said jokingly, poking fun at Sango's messiness.

"Yeah whatever." Sango said, walking into her room, "And you're not much better Ayame!" she yelled from inside her bedroom.

Ayame smiled and downed the rest of her red bull before walking into her own room to get ready.

In Kagome's room at the end of the hall, she sat against her closed door, not wanting Ayame or Sango to see her crying anymore. _Why Inuyasha? Why after all this time do you call me? Just as I'm really about to arrive as a model…I don't have time for anything else! It would have been easier if he had forgotten about me. _She thought

"Well, I can't think of him right now…I need to get ready for our girl's night out! Well…girls and Kouga." She said with a giggle, standing up and wiping her eyes off.

"Let's see what Ayame donated to the "Kagome Loves Prada" fund." She said, digging through the bags.

-------

"Hello? Kagome? Kagome! Are you there?" Inuyasha shouted into his phone, only to have his questions answered with the automated voice saying, "The number you have dialed has been disconnected. Please hang up and dial again."

"Fuck you…computer woman." Inuyasha mumbled, even though he knew full well that swearing at a motorized voice wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Inu! Did you get a hold of Kagome?" Miroku called from the kitchen of their apartment.

"No!" he called back, still wondering what happened. He had heard her voice, so she had answered the phone…but after that there was silence. _Maybe she never really answered the phone at all…maybe I just imagined it._

"Oh well. I need to pack seeing as stupid Miroku waited so long to tell me about this." He said with a disgruntled tone as he put his phone on his bed.

He walked to his closet and pulled out the first suitcase he could find, plopping it on his bed next to his phone; glancing at the phone on last time before opening his dresser drawers. _I guess if I do see her than its fate. _He thought as he threw the entire contents of his dresser into the open suitcase.

_Let's hope fate is on my side._

-------

"Ready guys?" Sango called from the living room as she drank a red bull.

She was wearing some of the clothes that Ayame had given her earlier. A dark purple, one sleeved shirt almost covered in glitter. She wore dark wash jeans with knee high black boots over them. As usual she wore very little jewelry, only silver bangles on the sleeveless arm and simple diamond studs in her ears. Her hair was in a curled side ponytail with a jeweled flower barrette pinned onto the ponytail holder. She walked over to the mirror by the door to touch up her eyeliner and amethyst eyeshadow.

Ayame emerged from her room still not totally ready. She was wearing black pinstripe trousers with a hunter green tunic. The empire waist of the tunic was belted with silver ribbon and beading, as was the deep V of the shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, simple yet classy. She was trying to put on her silver spike heels as she hobbled into the living room.

"You okay over there Ayame?" Sango asked while trying not to laugh at Ayame's attempt to put on a spike heel while moving.

Ayame looked up from her feet, "Yeah, I'm fine." She said right before tipping over, "Well, fine-ish" she said with a laugh.

Ayame put her shoes on while she was sitting and then stood up and slid her silver hoops into her ears as she checked her reflection in the mirror.

"Kagome! I made reservations! If you aren't out here in 30 seconds you can meet us at the restaurant!" Sango yelled, hoping Kagome heard her over the music she was playing in her room.

"Keep your pants on Sango! I'm ready!" Kagome yelled as she walked out of her room. She was wearing a little black halter dress and black lace up wedges. It was classically beautiful but still stood out. As usual Kagome let her long black hair flow freely and had simply bobby-pinned a flower above her right ear. If that outfit didn't attract attention, nothing will.

"How do I look?" she asked with a twirl.

"Very nice. So classic." Sango said, grabbing her purse and black leather jacket off of a bar stool. (_A/n: they have a bar built into their kitchen…which constitutes bar stools!_) "But we need to go, so let's go!"

Ayame opted to go without a jacket and ran back to her room to retrieve her purse as Kagome grabbed her faux fur stole and small black clutch.

The three models walked out of their apartment and easily caught a cab to _Il Ristorante Bellisimo. _(_A/n: yes I know it's a lame name but I haven't been in Italian class long enough to come up with something more creative._)

The three had all eyes on them as they walked up to the hostess.

"Yes we had a reservation" Sango said, always the leader.

"Yes, what name is it under?" the hostess asked with a smile.

"Sango Takai." Sango said with a smile. Being relatively famous was hard work and Sango actually enjoyed it when people didn't recognize her.

"All right, right this way ladies." The hostess said, taking three menus from a pile and leading them to a secluded table in the back corner of the restaurant.

They sat down around the table and looked at their menus. Their waiter came over and they placed their drink orders.

The waiter came back a few minutes later and gave out their drinks. Kagome held her cosmopolitan in the air, "I'd like to propose a toast." She said.

"We need to wait until Kouga gets here before we toast!" Ayame said, taking a small sip of her appletini.

"All right, all right. I don't know why he is incapable of being on time though." Sango said as she fiddled with the olives in her martini.

"Oh come on, I'm not that late." Kouga said, sitting down in the booth next to Ayame. He waved the waiter over, "Can I have a cranberry and vodka please?" he asked.

"Oh course sir." The waiter replied and returned a couple minutes later with Kouga's drink.

Kagome held her drink up a second time, "Okay, I would once again like to propose a toast." She said with a smile.

Sango, Ayame and Kouga held their drinks up to Kagome's.

"To amazing friends, amazing opportunities and this amazing country! Viva Italia!" she said and they all took a sip of their drinks.

"I can already tell this night is going to be amazing." Ayame said as she looped her arm through Kouga's.

------

"I can already tell that this night is going to suck" Inuyasha said as he paced in the living room of his and Miroku's apartment.

"Inuyasha, you are wearing a hole in our floor…please just sit down." Miroku said, flipping through channels on TV.

"I need to get out of here." Inuyasha said as he finally sat down on the couch, "It's our last night in Japan for the whole summer and we're sitting on our asses doing nothing!"

"Well…what do you want to do?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "I don't know. Something. I don't exactly want to go out and get drunk…but I feel the need to do something."

"Inuyasha, I will not leave this chair until you have decided what we are doing, because I am far too comfortable to get up for no reason."

"You're such a lazy ass Miroku. I bet if a girl was standing in the doorway you would be over there so fast it wouldn't even be funny."

Miroku shrugged, "Well duh! But that's beside the point…the point is that we have nothing to do on our last night in Japan."

After hours with no ideas on what to do they both just sank back into their chairs.

Miroku turned to Inuyasha in defeat, "Do you wanna just buy a movie on demand?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" he said, walking to the fridge to get a beer.

_This is going to be a long night._ He thought, sitting back on the couch.

-------

"That was the best meal I've had in a long time." Kagome said, putting her napkin over her empty plate, "I think that we should continue this party back at our place" she suggested, taking the last sip of her third cosmopolitan.

"I totally agree!" Sango said, fumbling to put on her coat in her mildly inebriated state, "We should walk! It'll be fun!"

"Yeah! Let's walk! I don't care that I'm wearing super high wedges. It will be so worth it!"

"Can we take a cab? It's too cold out to walk!" Ayame whined.

"Ayame! You were the one who didn't want to wear a coat! We are walking and that's that!" Sango shouted and jumped out of the booth with Kagome and ran to the door of the restaurant.

Kouga laughed out loud at Sango and Kagome's antics but then stopped laughing when he looked at a less than happy Ayame.

"Kouga! Either we take a cab or you give me your coat." She demanded

Kouga shook his head, "We're taking a cab then." He said as they walked from the restaurant, handing the bill to the waiter.

Surprisingly enough Sango and Kagome made it back to the apartment before Kouga and Ayame did and were already in party mode. They had changed out of their Prada and into their pajamas. Sango was wearing a purple cami and matching boyshorts while Kagome was wearing light pink silk pajamas.

"Welcome to the party!" Kagome yelled, hugging Ayame and Kouga as if it had been months since she saw them last.

"Quick! You need something to drink!" Sango yelled from behind the bar, pouring two drinks.

They spent the rest of the night in a constant party until they didn't know what they were doing anymore. Eventually Ayame and Kouga retired to Ayame's room and Sango and Kagome both passed out on the couches in the living room. They stayed like that until the sun woke them up the next morning, well…the sun and the telephone ringing.

Kagome staggered in a hung over daze to the phone, "Hello?" she asked groggily.

"Kagome?"

"Uh huh."

"You do realize that you have a shoot in an hour. Where are you?!?" Paolo yelled at her.

"SHIT! SHIT!" she yelled, "I'll be right there Paolo, let me just get changed!"

She hung up the phone and ran into her room. "FUCK! I can't believe this!" she yelled as she threw on the first articles of clothing she could find, light wash jeans, a teal polo and matching flip flops. She ran into the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and brush her hair before running into the living room.

"Sango! Wake up! If you had a shoot today you're probably so fucking late!" she yelled at the sleeping brunette.

Sango shot up and looked around like a deer in the headlights. "What time is it?!?" she yelled.

"Ten" Kagome said as she grabbed her keys off of the counter and stuffed them in her purse. "I can't talk though, my shoot starts in an hour. Bye!" she yelled over her shoulder as she left the apartment.

Sango stood up and walked over to her portfolio briefcase and pulled out her planner. She flipped to today's page and frantically looked around for any plans.

"Nothing today. Thank God." She said with a huge sigh of relief.

She saw Ayame's date book sitting on the counter and she picked it up. _No sense waking her up if she doesn't have any plans_. She thought.

"Hmm…she has two go-sees in three hours. I think I'll go wake her up." She put the date book back on the counter and walked down the hall, knocking on the first door on the left.

"Ayame, you have go-sees in three hours. Time to get up" she said.

"I don't wanna! Call them and cancel. I'm sleeping!" Ayame called back.

Sango opened the door to the room, "Ayame Connelly! Get out of bed right now! Kouga's already left for work and so has Kagome. so you need to drag your ass out of bed! Don't make me come over there!" Sango threatened.

"All right, all right. I'm getting out of bed mom" Ayame grumbled as she climbed out of bed.

"Good" Sango said and closed the door behind her as she walked into the kitchen. She set up the espresso machine to make two shots and then walked onto the balcony.

She breathed in the morning air and sighed. She looked out over the balcony; the view was amazing, a perfect view of all of Milan.

_This is something only three supermodels could afford_. She thought to herself with a smile, _worth every penny._

-------

"Inuyasha! You have to get up! The flight time was changed! We need to be at the airport in an hour!" Miroku yelled frantically.

"I didn't do it!" Inuyasha yelled as he sat straight up in bed.

"Yeah whatever, get ready!" Miroku yelled, moving his luggage from his bedroom to the hallway.

Inuyasha climbed out of bed and stretched leisurely before changing out of his pajamas and into jeans and a short-sleeved button down shirt. He put on his shoes and grabbed his luggage from in front of his bed and moved it into the hallway with Miroku's luggage.

"Hey Miroku, calm down. We'll be fine. Just get dressed and then we'll leave." Inuyasha said calmly.

Miroku took a deep breath and walked into his room. He returned ten minutes later wearing a white button down shirt with a loose black tie around his neck with light wash jeans.

"Okay? Ready to go now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah. Ready as I'll ever be. Although I am wicked nervous…what if Versace doesn't like my pictures?"

"Miroku, you're a damn good photographer. And if Versace doesn't appreciate that they can shove your pictures up their asses. Everything is going to be great." Inuyasha said, reassuring him.

_Everything will be great._ Inuyasha thought to himself. _Or at least I hope that everything will be great…_

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_Authoress' Note: I'm rather proud of this chapter if I do say so myself. Well, review away loyal readers! I love you all! And I will have the next chapter up as soon as possible. Is there an encounter in Kagome and Inuyasha's future? Hmm…I don't know. _


	3. The Invitation

**Disclaimer: nope…nothing.**

_Authoress' Note: well…I'm trying to get this out as fast as I can for you guys. Cause I love you all so much! Cause of your amazing feedback! Well, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Three_

Inuyasha walked out of the terminal and looked around, completely lost. He looked around the airport and very few things were in English, and nothing was in Japanese; the two languages he spoke. He looked to his left where Miroku stood, glued to his Italian/English dictionary.

"Where do we go?" Inuyasha asked, trying to decipher Italian as if it was some sort of code.

"Um…there! Baggage claim!" Miroku said, pointing down a set of stairs.

They walked down the stairs and over to the baggage claim. After successfully retrieving their luggage, they tried to exit the airport. Walking past a bookstore Inuyasha saw himself looking at him from a magazine cover.

"Look Miro! Who's that handsome bastard?" Inuyasha asked, pointing to the magazine.

"Don't let your head get any bigger Yash, it wouldn't be a good look for you." Miroku said with a laugh.

Inuyasha laughed too, "You're right, for once. Now get us a taxi so we can get out of here."

-------

"Paolo I'm so so sorry!" Kagome said, running into the studio.

"Yeah, excuses excuses, just go get ready." He replied while setting up the equipment for the shoot.

Kagome rushed into the dressing room where she was greeted by the hair and makeup artists. She said down in a chair in front of a vanity as the hair and makeup crew got to work.

"What are we doing today?" she asked.

"Swimsuits. It is a shoot for the summer line of course." The makeup artist said, applying foundation.

In a half hour Kagome was ready with hair and makeup and took the hanger with her name on it off of the clothing rack. She slipped into the navy blue and white striped bikini. It was adorned with red piping and a red anchor on the right cup of the bikini. She grabbed a pair of sandals off of the shoe rack and walked into the studio for the shoot.

"You look fabulous darling!" Paolo said as she walked in front of the beach backdrop.

After a few poses Paolo stopped taking pictures.

"Kagome, you seem different today. What's going on hun?" he asked.

"Oh nothing" she replied nonchalantly. _Except I just found out the only guy I ever loved still cares about me. And then he called._

"Well, then you need to step it up. Here, use this!" he said, kicking a blue and white beach ball over to her.

Kagome nodded and picked up the ball, she tossed it to herself a couple times, acting as if she was truly having fun. _Just pretend Kagome, modeling is acting above all else. Just act happy and then you'll be fine._ She thought as she continued with the shoot.

"All right, we've got it. Go home and rest up Kagome. And I will see you in two days to finish up this feature." Paolo said, looking over the frames online.

Kagome nodded, "All right. Thank you Paolo."

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It took Ayame two hours to drag herself out of her room. When she emerged, she was ready for her go-sees. She was wearing a pinstripe pencil skirt and matching blazer with an emerald green silk blouse underneath. She pulled her hair into a side ponytail and tied it with a simple green ribbon. She didn't wear any jewelry and simple black shoes. She had certainly dressed to impress.

"Looking good Ayame" Sango said from her adirondack chair on the balcony. She stood up and walked through the French door s and into the apartment.

"Thank you. These are important go-sees so I figured I would look my absolute best."

"Who are you going to see?" Sango asked, while going to the fridge for a new bottle of water.

"Elie Saab and Valentino" She said proudly.

"Wow, good luck." Sango said, impressed by Ayame's ambition.

"Thanks, I'll need it" she said, taking a sip of Sango's water, "But I've got to run. I'll see you later tonight!"

"All right! Bye!" Sango said as Ayame walked out the door, portfolio and purse in tow.

"And now it's Sango time!" Sango said with a smile. She went into her room and came back out wearing reading glasses and carrying a book, "Time to be intellectual" she said with a smile as she took her place on the adirondack chair once again.

--------

"I love this weather! How did I ever put up with Japan for so long?" Kagome said to herself as she walked down the road. "I want gelato!" she said randomly and made her way to the nearest gelato shop.

As she exited, holding a cone of vanilla gelato, "I think that more than amazing fashion and amazing men Italy's biggest contribution to the world I gelato" she said with a laugh.

She walked down the remaining two blocks before and as she got to the door her cell phone rang. She fumbled through her purse before finding her phone.

"Hello?"

"Yes. Is this Kagome Higurashi?" a woman's voice on the other line asked.

"Yes it is, may I ask who's calling?"

"My name is Sophia and I am calling from Versace studios. We were wondering if you could come down for a go-see because we want to use you for our summer line. We are bringing in a new photographer from Japan so Donatella wanted to use a relatively new model from Japan, and your name came up."

"Oh my goodness…I would love to come down. When do you want me to come?" Kagome said, incredibly nervous.

"We were hoping to see you tomorrow morning. But until then Donatella would also like to invite you to Versace's annual Midsummer's Masquerade Ball tonight, if it isn't on too much short notice."

"Yes I can come see you tomorrow, is ten o'clock all right?" Kagome asked, not believing this was happening.

"Yes, that is fine, there is an opening in the schedule. And the ball?"

"Yes, I would love to go. Am I allowed to bring guests?" she asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"Who would you be bringing Kagome?"

"I live with Sango Takai and Ayame Connelly. So I would be bringing them"

"Oh of course that is all right, the more the merrier."

"And not to push my luck could I also add Kouga Misaki to my guest list as well?" she asked meekly.

Sophia was quiet on the other end for a second before answering, "Oh yes, of course. You all are on the guest list. The party starts at 8 o'clock sharp. And if you aren't in costume, you are not permitted in."

"Yes of course. Thank you so much. I will see you tomorrow at ten." Kagome said.

"Yes we will. Goodbye Kagome."

"Goodbye" Kagome said and hung her phone up. Not knowing what to do with herself she let out a scream in the middle of the street before running up the stairs to tell Sango what had just happened.

------

"Inuyasha! Get unpack quickly, we have something we need to do" Miroku said, walking into Inuyasha's room. (_A/n: they're staying in an apartment for the summer, not a hotel_)

"Why? Where are we going?"

"We need to get costumes, we're going to the Versace masquerade ball tonight."

--------

_Authoress' Note: not gonna lie guys, I'm leaving for the mall in like two minutes but I wanted to get this out for you all before I left! What do you think? R&R!_


	4. The Costumes

**Disclaimer: I only own my ideas…and that's enough for me.**

_Authoress' Note: once again, you guys have amazed me with all the incredible feedback. Keep it coming!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Four_

Sango was still reading on the balcony when Kagome burst through the apartment door.

"OH MY GOD SANGO YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAS HAPPENED!" she yelled as she threw her things on the couch and ran on to the balcony.

Sango sat up and but the book on a table next to her chair. "What?" she asked eagerly.

Kagome sat down in a chair next to Sango and leaned towards her.

"We are going to the Versace Ball tonight!" she screamed into Sango's ear, but she didn't seem to care much.

"WHAT?!" Sango screamed jumping out of her chair.

"I KNOW!"

"Wait…what are we going to wear?" Sango asked, realizing that it was a costume party.

"Costumes, but we need to leave now. Call Ayame, tell her to meet us at the dress shop in the center of town." Kagome said, putting her things in her room and changing her shoes.

"All right." Sango said, taking her book and glasses into the house, setting them on the counter and taking out her phone; dialing Ayame's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ayame? Its Sango."

"I know. What's up?"

"Kagome got us and probably Kouga invited to Versace's masquerade ball!" Sango squealed, still in shock.

"Oh my God…that's tonight. We need clothes!"

"I know. Kagome and I are going to the dress shop in the middle of town, meet us there as soon as you can. And then Kouga is your responsibility."

"Don't worry, I have an idea for him." She said with an evil tone of voice, "I'll meet you guys there after my next go-see, it'll prolly be like a half hour to an hour."

"All right, see you then. Bye"

"Bye"

Sango snapped her phone closed and turned around to see Kagome coming out of her room, ready to go.

"Let's roll" Kagome said, putting her Chanel sunglasses on and walking out the door.

------

"What do you mean we're going to a costume party tonight? It's our first night in town!"

"Exactly, and Versace needs me at this party. We have to go Yash, come on, we need to go get costumes." Miroku said, dragging Inuyasha off of his bed and onto the floor.

"Ow! You bastard! But if it means that much to you I guess I can go"

"Of course you can" Miroku said, throwing Inuyasha his coat and walking out the door.

-----

"So what are you going as?" Sango asked Kagome as they walked to the dress shop.

"I'm not exactly sure but this store has every kind of dress known to man. I think I might go in a Greek dress, it is a midsummer's ball after all."

"Good idea Kags. I don't know what I'm going to go as, but I know that I'll know the dress when I see it." Sango said as she opened the door to the shop and her and Kagome walked in.

"Good afternoon ladies! How can I help you?" the woman at the counter asked as they walked in.

"Yes, we need outfits for the midsummer's ball" Kagome said, "I was wondering if you had anything Grecian in style?"

The woman thought for a second and then nodded, "Yes I think I have just the thing. Follow me." She said and motioned for Kagome to follow as she walked into a back room.

Another woman walked over to Sango, "What can I help you find?" she asked.

Sango shrugged, "I'm not sure. I don't know what I want to go as so I was just planning on looking around." She said, "Is that okay?"

"Of course, but if you would like to try anything on, just let me know."

Sango nodded and started looking at the rack closest to her. She browsed through a couple of racks until she reached the back wall. Hanging on display was the most gorgeous dress Sango had ever seen. It was a light purple long flowing dress. It had a boat-neck neckline (_A/n: AKA the sleeves are around the shoulders instead of on the shoulders_) adorned with what looks like diamonds. It had an empire waist and as the dress flowed away from the waist, it opened to reveal white lace, making it like shutters of purple around a window of white. She reached out to touch it in awe, as if it would disappear if she got too close.

Suddenly the saleswoman appeared behind her, "That is a beauty, it will look wonderful on you"

Sango nodded, "Yes. I need it. Could I try it on please?"

"Well this is the only copy of this dress we have so I hope that it fits you." She said, taking it off of the wall and handing it to Sango and leading her to a fitting room.

Meanwhile, Kagome was in the back section of the store, staring at a dress she only could have imagined. It was a perfect replica of an ancient Greek chiton, and it fit her perfectly. She held it gently, as if she were going to break it.

"I have the perfect shoes to go with that dress if you want to see them." The saleswoman said.

"Yes, I would like that." Kagome said, carrying her dress into a room filled with thousands of accessories ranging from fake swords to fairy wings.

Kagome heard her phone ring and dug into her pocket and fished it out, putting it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kags. As luck would have it I saw the most perfect outfit in a store window on my way here and bought it on impulse. So I won't be coming to meet you and Sango at the shop, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. See you back at home"

"Yup. Bye Kags!"

"Bye"

Kagome hung her phone up and walked over to where the lady had led her.

"Here are the shoes Miss." She said, pointing to a pair of shoes on the table. They were gold sandals with gold ribbons to lace up the leg. They were perfect, just like the lady had promised.

"I would like those in a size seven please" Kagome said, smiling at her good fortune.

"All right, and I'll take your dress too and meet you back at the counter." The lady said.

Kagome handed her the dress and went back to looking around the room, it was then that she laid her eyes on the perfect accessory for her outfit. She picked it up and walked to the counter to pay.

--------

Sango prayed that the dress would fit as she zipped the back up and to her great luck, it fit her perfectly. She looked at her reflection in the mirror in awe.

"I look like an— that's the perfect idea!" she exclaimed without ever finishing her first thought. She hurriedly unzipped the dress and hung it on the hanger and after putting her clothes back on she hurried to the room full of accessories. She found exactly what she had been looking for along with a gorgeous pair of white stilettos that she also picked up.

After Kagome and Sango had finished their shopping they walked quickly back to the apartment to get ready.

-----

"Well what are we going to wear Miroku…or should I say Mr. Doesn't-Plan-For-a-Party-Until-That-Day-Man" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing Yash. Trust me. Everything will be fine; in fact, everything is all ready for us. We just need to pick it up at the shop."

"And I don't even get to decide what I'm wearing?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nope." Miroku said simply, "Wait out here for a sec, I'll be done in a minute" he said, walking into the store and emerging a minute or so later with two bags. He handed one to Inuyasha, "Here you go. Now let's go eat before this thing starts. We have time."

"Well it's your treat then Miroku."

Miroku laughed, "Of course it is. Let's go."

-------

When Ayame returned to the apartment later that afternoon, Sango and Kagome were already held up in their rooms getting ready for the nights festivities. Knowing that she wasn't going to get to see them before they were totally ready, she took her outfit into her room to begin getting ready as well.

Two hours later there was a knock at the apartment door, knowing it was Kouga, Ayame emerged from her room to open the door for him. She opened the door to reveal a very angry looking Kouga.

Ayame had taken the liberty of picking out their outfits without consulting Kouga first. She was wearing a dress of a Scottish highlander, white long sleeves and poofy skirt with tartan wrapped around it, complete with white beret. Kouga on the other hand, got the honor of dressing up as Scotland's national hero William Wallace, complete with blue face and kilt.

"Ayame, I don't get you. Why did you want to wear this? I'm in a skirt!"

"To remind me of my heritage, and it's not a skirt, it's a kilt."

"Ayame?" Kouga asked.

"Yes?"

"YOU'RE IRISH!"

"So? Either way the Scottish and the Irish are alike because at one point we hated the English…you're William Wallace, deal with it okay. I look too cute in this to change." She said matter-of-factly, walking into the kitchen, "Want something to drink?"

"Something strong, so I can forget that I'm wearing a skirt" he said, taking a seat at the bar facing Ayame as she poured him a jack and coke.

She placed the glass in front of him; "It's a kilt" she said and then walked into her room.

"Where are you going?!" Kouga yelled

"I'm not ready!" Ayame yelled back.

Kouga took a long sip of his drink, "That girl" he said, shaking his head and smiling.

--------

"Miroku! Why the hell am I wearing a skirt!" Inuyasha yelled, walking into the living room where Miroku was sitting on a couch.

"It's not a skirt you idiot, it's a toga. The party is a midsummer's party….therefore….toga!" Miroku said, trying to connect the dots for Inuyasha.

"Then how come you get to wear a tux? Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Look on the counter and figure it out" Miroku said, not wanting to get off of the couch.

Inuyasha walked over to the counter and picked up the white mask that was on it; except the mask was only made to cover half of a face.

"I don't get it" Inuyasha said dumbly after looking at it for a couple seconds.

"God Inuyasha, you need some culture in your life. I'm the phantom of the opera you dumbass."

"Whatever Miroku, I'm kind of focused on the fact I'm in a skirt."

"Deal with it Inuyasha, go put your shoes on. Versace is sending a car for us in fifteen minutes and you damn well better be ready."

"Threats do nothing to me Miroku! But I'll be ready!"

_I don't know what I'm going to do with him,_ Miroku thought as he put on his mask and black cape and looking at himself in the mirror. _I'm too sexy for my mask! Too sexy for my cape! _He thought with a laugh and did one last check to make sure he had everything he needed. He slipped his shoes on as he heard a car beep outside.

"Yash! The car is here! Let's go!" he called.

"Coming!" Inuyasha walked out of his room in his Grecian attire, finally accepting that maybe wearing a toga wasn't so bad.

"You look hott in a skirt Yash" Miroku said jokingly as he walked out the door.

"You're dead Miroku, don't even bother making plans for tomorrow, you'll be dead!"

"Of course I will be Yash, just get in the car" Miroku said as he locked the apartment door and climbed into the car.

-------

"Are you guys ready!?" Ayame shouted from the living room where she had been ready and waiting for ten minutes.

"I am" Sango said, walking out of her room.

"Sango! You look so incredible!" Ayame exclaimed.

Sango was wearing her purple dress and white heels that she found in the store. Her hair was done up in a low bun with several curls falling out, framing her face. The crowing glory of her outfit was the set of small, white, feathered wings that she had attached to her back with much difficulty. She had a halo fixed in her bun so it seemingly floated right above her head.

"You look just like an angel!" Ayame said, touching the wings.

"Thanks, that was what I was going for." Sango said with a smile, "Don't touch the wings please. They are pretty much glued onto my back and I don't want them ripping off before they have to be removed."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." She looked over at Kouga, who was still unhappy. "Hey, William Wallace, why so blue?" she asked and then cracked up at her own terrible pun.

"Shut up Sango. Just because you and Ayame get to look amazing and I have to wear a skirt doesn't mean you can make fun of me."

"It's a kilt" Sango and Ayame said at the same time.

"You look so cute Ayame! I love the tartan! And your hat! So awesome!" Sango said.

"Thanks! Where's Kagome, she said that Versace was sending a car for us and it should be here soon." Ayame asked, trying to talk loud enough so Kagome could hear from her room.

"I'm ready!" Kagome said, walking out into the living room, but she looked nothing like Kagome.

Wearing a Greek chiton with a slit up the right side, revealing her gold lace up sandals Kagome looked like a goddess. But the surprising aspect of her outfit was the wig she was wearing. Her hair was now a light brown and pulled into a high ponytail. She had adorned her hair with a golden crown of olive leaves. She wore simple gold bangles around her wrists and no other jewelry.

"Kagome…I don't recognize you!" Sango said, "But you look so amazing!"

"I figured to continue with the theme. Tonight I am Hermia from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. And Hermia is almost always portrayed with light hair. So I just went with it" she said with a smile.

There was a beep outside as the car pulled up to the apartment's stairs. (_A/n: cause they have to walk upstairs to get to their apartment…get it?_)

"Come on guys! Time to be the life of the party!" Kagome cheered as she walked out the door and down the stairs, followed by everyone else; all of them ready for the party of a lifetime.

------

_Authoress' Note: oh man! Another chapter where they didn't meet…are you guys angry with me yet? I hope not. Well not to give anything away but they will probably meet at this party…but I'm not saying they're gonna know each other. Ooh! That would be super mean. But anyways, now that I'm done being crazy…review please! I'm not going to post another chapter until I get 40 reviews! How's that for motivation?_


	5. The Masquerade

**Disclaimer: still don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: Thanks for your feedback! I didn't get 40 reviews…but I figure that 37 is just as good…you guys are the best in the world! So I'm going to make this chapter extra amazing…or I'm going to try and make it extra amazing. Is a meeting in Kagome and Inuyasha's future? And what about Sango and Miroku? Oooh! It's a mystery! So enjoy!_

_PS. Someone reviewed and asked me where Sesshoumaru was. I wasn't originally planning on having him in this story but after thinking about it I decided that there was a way to work him into the story line. But in order for this to work I'm going to have to make a little editing thing. So for the sake of me not having to take down and repost chapter four we are all going to pretend that instead of talking to Donatella's assistant Sophia on the phone, Kagome was talking to Rin. Can we imagine that? Ok, let's get this show on the road!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Five_

Kagome and company arrived at the party shortly after it began. They walked in and Kagome was approached by a short girl wearing a ball gown and tiara.

"Kagome Higurashi?" she asked.

"Yes"

"I'm Rin Hakashi, we talked earlier today" she said with a smile, "I'm Donatella's assistant."

"Oh, it's very nice to meet you!" Kagome said

Rin looked at Kagome and then looked at Kagome's hair, "Miss Higurashi? I thought that you were from Japan. Do you dye your hair?" she asked.

Kagome laughed, "No, no. this is a wig. I'm Hermia from A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'm just having a little fun."

"Oh, thank goodness. Well I would like to introduce you to the photographer that will be shooting you." Rin said, pulling Kagome with her.

Kagome turned back to Sango, Ayame and Kouga, "You guys can go ahead!" she called.

Kouga and Ayame went towards the bar but Sango chose to follow Kagome and Rin.

"You don't mind me come too right Kags?" Sango asked.

"Oh course not!" Kagome said, "I would never mind you coming anywhere Sango!"

"Mr. Kashi!" Rin called, waving her arm above her head. A man dressed as the phantom of the opera walked over to Rin.

"Miroku? This is Kagome, your model. Kagome, this is Miroku Kashi, Versace's new photographer." Rin said.

Miroku took Kagome's hand and kissed it. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kagome. And who is this lovely lady with you?" he asked, looking at Sango.

"This is Sango Takai, she's my roommate and a model as well." Kagome said.

"Hello Sango." Miroku said and Sango smiled.

"I like your costume Miroku." Kagome said, "Very classy."

Miroku smiled, "Well thank you. I like yours as well. I assume you were going with the midsummer night's dream theme? Are you Hermia or Helena?"

"Hermia. And I'm very impressed that you knew that. You're earning brownie points all over the place." She said and laughed.

"Are you here alone?" Sango asked.

"No, I'm here with a friend of mine. You ladies might know of him, Inuyasha Kimura; the actor."

"Oh yes, we've heard of him. I actually bought his magazine yesterday; we were just looking at it." Sango said, "Where is he?"

"Right over there. INUYASHA!" Miroku called and Inuyasha in all of his toga-ed glory walked over with a drink in his hand.

_Crap._ Kagome thought, _what are the chances that he's here too…well Miroku didn't recognize me…so maybe he won't either._

"Yash, this is Sango Takai and my model for the Versace shoot Ka-"

"Hermia" Kagome said, cutting off Miroku and winking at him before he finished. She stuck her hand out and Inuyasha shook it.

"Nice to meet you two. Are you a model too Sango?"

Sango nodded, "Yes, I live with Kagome."

"Kagome! Sango!" Ayame yelled and ran over to them, dragging a still unhappy Kouga.

"Let's dance! Come on!" she said, jumping up and down.

"Ayame…calm down." Kagome said and then turned to Miroku and Inuyasha, "This is Ayame Connelly, my other roommate; the face of Prada. And this is her boyfriend Kouga Misaki, a photographer. This is Miroku Kashi, my photographer for my Versace shoot and Inuyasha Kimura."

"Nice to meet you both." Ayame said, "But let's dance! Come on! And look Kagome and Sango…dance partners for you both! Let's go!"

Miroku looked at Sango, "Would you like to dance?" he asked her.

She blushed like mad and then smiled, "Of course."

They followed after Ayame and Kouga to the dance floor, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha alone.

_Obviously he wasn't paying attention when Ayame called me Kagome…he's such a space cadet sometime._ Kagome thought.

"So…do you…um…want to dance or something?" Inuyasha asked her.

"Maybe later, do you want to go get a drink?" Kagome suggested.

Inuyasha shrugged, "I could go for another."

The two walked over to the bar and sat down. The bartender walked over, "What can I get you two?" he asked.

"Cosmopolitan"

"Sex on the beach"

Kagome turned to Inuyasha, "Oooh, sex on the beach" Kagome said, nudging him in the sides with a grin.

"What? It's good. Don't look at me like that"

The bartender placed the drinks in front of them and left them to themselves once more.

"So, where are you from?" he asked her.

"Japan. I came out here about five or so years ago."

"That's cool. I'm from Japan too. Wait a sec, how is your name Hermia if you're from Japan?"

_And the last horse crosses the finish line._ Kagome thought, "Because Hermia is just my name tonight. Stay on my good side and you can leave with my real name and the number attached." She said flirtily, finishing her drink, "Come on, let's go dance" she said, pulling him from the bar and onto the dance floor.

They walked over to where Sango and Miroku and Ayame and Kouga were dancing just as the song changed to "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith.

"_I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing. Watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you're far away and dreaming."_

Kagome put her arms around Inuyasha's neck as he held her at her waist. Kagome looked around Inuyasha to see Kouga and Ayame dancing together, looking at each other with the same love struck gaze. Sango was leaning into Miroku as they danced, looking incredibly cute Kagome thought.

"_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever. When every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure."_

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha who had been softly singing the words to the song to himself. She smiled; this had been there song way back when, she was glad to know he still knew the words.

"You have a wonderful voice" she said jokingly with a big smile.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I was singing." He said, embarrassed, "This song is really special to me, you know? So it's kind of hard hearing it."

"Oh, why?" Kagome asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal. I just dated someone for a while and this was our song, that's all."

Kagome nodded, "Oh. That's cool."

Kagome closed her eyes and leaned her head on Inuyasha's chest as they continued dancing.

"_I don't wanna close my eyes. I don't wanna fall asleep, cause I'd miss you baby. And I don't wanna miss a thing."_

Kagome fought back tears as they danced. She was dancing with Inuyasha to their song after five years of being separated. Although she was distraught because she didn't want a relationship, she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. Being with him was so natural to him; she just wished that he knew who she was.

The song ended and Kagome took her head off of Inuyasha's chest and looked to the other two couples.

"Wanna head out?" Sango asked.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and then back to Sango. She nodded, "Sure. Is it after party time?"

"But of course!" Ayame said, "I'll go call our car around! Be outside in a minute!" she called as her and Kouga walked from the dance floor to the exit.

Kagome walked over to the bar with Inuyasha, asking the bartender for a napkin and a pen.

"I'm leaving now, but I wanted to give you this. Open it tomorrow, okay?" she asked, writing something on the napkin, folding it and giving it to him.

He took it from her and looked at it quizzically, "Um, okay. I won't open it til tomorrow. Can I call you then?" he asked.

She nodded, "You can call anytime, I'm usually pretty busy with shoots and go-sees. Since the Versace thing came up I'll prolly be kinda swamped, but I'll see if I can fit you in." she said with a smile and then, kissing him on the cheek, turned to leave.

She found Sango giving Miroku her number on the dance floor and then heading towards the exit.

"Sango! Wait for me!" Kagome yelled, trying to catch up.

"Hey! How amazing was tonight! You're new photographer is so amazing, I wish he was shooting me!" Sango gushed, obviously crushing on Miroku.

"Calm down Sango, I'm sure you'll see him plenty. But the night is still young. It's time to party the way only the top three models in Milan can!" she shouted, walking to their car; which had pulled up to the sidewalk for them to get in.

Climbing in the car they told the driver where they were going and leaned back to enjoy the ride.

* * *

**-Miroku and Inuyasha-**

"Do you want to get going too?" Miroku asked after Kagome, Sango and the others left the party.

"Yeah, let's go. Go tell Rin we're leaving and that my brother is back at our apartment if she wants to come. I'll go get the car." Inuyasha said, walking out the door to get the car, still in awe of the girl he spent the night with.

"All right!" Miroku said, even though Inuyasha was already out the door.

Miroku waded through the sea of people until he saw Rin's gown and tiara.

"Rin!" Miroku yelled to get her attention.

She turned around and saw Miroku waving to her. She excused herself from conversation and walked towards him.

"Rin, Inuyasha and I are heading out now and Inuyasha wanted me to tell you that his brother is waiting for us at our apartment if you want to come back with us."

Rin thought for a second and then looked around. "Let me go tell Donatella that I'm leaving. Wait right here" she said and then walked back into the crowd.

Miroku waited for a couple minutes before he saw Rin heading back towards him.

"Okay, we can go now." She said, "Where's Inuyasha?"

"He's outside having the car brought around. We need to go meet him outside."

"All right, let's go." Rin started heading for the door and Miroku followed her. As soon as they got outside their car pulled up and they climbed in to find Inuyasha already in it.

"Ready to go?" he asked them.

"Yeah" Miroku said and gave the driver the address to go to and they drove off into the night.

* * *

**-The Models + Kouga-**

Ayame burst through the door of the apartment, kicking off her shoes and running over to the bar and immediately pouring herself a drink.

"It's party time!" she yelled. She downed her drink and poured another one. "Come on slow pokes!"

Sango and Kagome ran into the room, taking after Ayame's need for a party. They poured shots, toasted to Versace and downed them.

Kouga walked in after, carrying three purses, he closed and locked the door behind him. "I'm going to change, I need to put pants on" he said, walking into Ayame's room.

"Kouga, stop being bómánta!" Ayame yelled.

"Ayame…what?" Sango asked, pouring vermouth and vodka into the martini shaker.

"I said that Kouga was being bómánta…you know…stupid?" Ayame said in a matter of fact tone.

"Ayame…that wasn't Italian…or English…" Kagome said, drinking her cosmo.

Ayame shrugged and poured another drink, "I don't care!"

Kouga came out of Ayame's room wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt. "Ayame, put the drink down and change out of your costume before you're drunk and can't get out of it." He said, trying to act more paternal than annoyed.

"Smaoineamh maith atá ann!" Ayame yelled as she ran into her room. (_A/n: I decided to give Ayame a cool quirk for when she's drunk. When she gets drunk she slips into speaking Gaelic rather than English or Italian. So I will have translations next to what she says because she won't be speaking much English anymore. So I hope you enjoy your Gaelic experience! Oh, and what she just said was "That is a good idea!")_

Kouga shook his head and walked over to the bar to pour himself a drink. He looked at Sango and Kagome, "If you two are going to be drinking a lot you should probably change too. Or at least take the wings and wig off now." He suggested, taking a shot before mixing himself a jack and coke.

"Good idea, Kags I'm going to need your held ripping these off of my back" Sango said, "I better finish my drink so it will hurt less," she said as she downed the rest of her martini and walked towards her room followed by Sango.

All Kouga heard while he drank his jack and coke were Sango's shouts as Kagome ripped the wings off her back and Ayame giggling like mad as she got changed.

Fifteen minutes later all three girls emerged from their rooms, all in pajamas. Kagome's hair was black once again, and Kouga could see large red marks on Sango's back.

Ayame sat down at the bar for another drink and looked to Sango and Kagome, "An bhfuil tú ar meisce fós?" (_"Are you drunk yet?"_)

"Ayame…once again, that's not a language that anyone speaks. You can speak it all you want but don't expect any answers." Kouga said, already used to Ayame's weird drunken language change.

Ayame looked at Kouga and smiled, **"**Tá grá agam duit!" (_"I love you"_)

"Of course Ayame, of course" Kouga answered, like he knew what she was saying.

"Hey at this rate we can learn Gaelic by the time she passes out!" Kagome said jokingly.

Sango laughed, "I always knew there was a reason we kept her around, she's amazing entertainment."

Ayame turned to Sango and giggled as she took a sip of her drink, (_A/n: we now enter the time when Ayame's Gaelic has no correlation with anything whatsoever, she just says random phrases…enjoy!_) "Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile! Ní hé lá na báistí lá na bpáistí!" ("_A beetle recognizes another beetle. A rainy day isn't a day for the children"._)

"We should subtitle her!" Kagome said, laughing with Kouga.

"Or something like that" Kouga said, "Subtitle…sedate…toMAYto, toMAto."

Kagome shook her head and laughed. "Did you hear that Sango?" she asked.

Sango smiled, "Yeah. You're a funny guy Kouga."

"Is as Éire dom Kouga." Ayame said, holding her cup out to him. ("_I'm from Ireland Kouga"_)

Kouga took her cup and smiled, "Go bhfios dom Ayame" Kouga answered, to Sango and Kagome's shock, handing Ayame a glass of water. ("_As far as I know Ayame"_)

Kouga looked back to Sango and Kagome who were staring at him as if he had three heads. He shrugged, "What? You think I date Ms. Speaks-Gaelic-drunk for two years and not try to learn some?"

Kagome and Sango shrugged, "Good point." They said in unison.

Ayame finished her water and poked Kouga in the arm until he turned to face her. "Is ea anois, an bhfédaim cúnamh leat?" he asked, turning to face her. ("Y_es, may I help you?"_)

"I only learned helpful phrases to deal with her drunk" he said to Sango and Kagome who were still incredibly impressed.

"Tá tuirse orm Kouga. Tá tuirse orm." She said in a sad voice. ("_I'm tired Kouga, I'm tired"_)

"Maith, leaba tráth Ayame." ("O_kay, bed time Ayame"_)

He led her into her room, tucking her into bed and sitting on the edge next to her. She looked at him and smiled.

"Gráim thú" she whispered. ("I love you")

Kouga leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Gráim thú. Tá tú go h-álainn. Grá mo chroí go síoraí." He whispered into her ear. ("I love you. You're beautiful, the love of my heart forever.")

He stood up to leave and she grabbed his arm, "Ar bith, ná bí imigh!" ("_No, don't leave"_)

Kouga looked at her, "Dhá nóiméad scallta." ("_I'll be right back". The literal translation for this is "a mere two minutes"_)

Kouga walked out of Ayame's room and into the living room where Sango and Kagome were talking.

"I just put her in bed but she doesn't want to be alone so I'm turning in too. I just wanted to say good night and I'll see you tomorrow morning." He said and then turned back into Ayame's room.

He climbed under the covers next to Ayame, who immediately snuggled up to him and whispered something in Gaelic Kouga couldn't hear or understand. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and whispered to her, "Oíche mhaith, codladh sámh banphrionsa" before falling asleep beside her. (_"Good night princess"_)

* * *

**-in the living room- **

Sango and Kagome began to clean up the bar area before going to bed.

"I hate having to wake up in the morning to a dirty kitchen" Sango said as she put all the glasses into the dishwasher.

"I agree. And since I have that Versace go-see at ten tomorrow morning I don't have time to clean up tomorrow" Kagome said, washing down the counters.

"Well, this is good enough." Sango closed the dishwasher door and stretched as she yawned.

"I'll say. Do you think it's time for bed?" Kagome asked.

Sango nodded. "Yeah. But before you go to bed, how adorable is Kouga? He learned Gaelic so he can take care of Ayame when she's drunk."

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, they sure are in love, it's amazing really."

"Yes it is. Oh and by the way, how was dancing with Inuyasha Kimura tonight? He's famous Kag! What was he like?" Sango asked.

Kagome sighed, "Like the only man I have ever loved" she said and then walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her; leaving Sango standing alone in the kitchen dumbfounded.

_I don't get her._ Sango thought and then walked into her own room, surrendering unto sleep.

* * *

_Authoress' Note: I'm not gonna lie guys, I am in love with this chapter. Just a little deeper insight into Kouga and Ayame's relationship, I think it's adorable. In the coming chapter will be Sesshoumaru, Rin, Miroku and Inuyasha's night and then prolly Kagome's go-see. But I guess you'll have to wait and see! Please, please review!_


	6. The Afterparty

**Disclaimer: still don't own it…damn.**

_Authoress' Note: hey! I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter as much as I did! So I hope you enjoy this one as well._

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Six_

**-Earlier that Night Across Town-**

"This is the place!" Miroku called to the driver and the car came to a stop.

They all climbed out of the car, Rin with some difficulty because of her dress, and walked up the stairs and Miroku unlocked the apartment and they went inside.

When they walked into the apartment they saw that Sesshoumaru was already there and was having a drink while he waiting.

"It's not a bad place you have here little brother, and nice skirt" he said, putting his glass on the counter.

Inuyasha acknowledged his statement with a "Feh" and then went into his room to change out of his costume.

"Hi Sesshoumaru" Rin said timidly, they had been casually seeing each other for a couple weeks now, but something about Sesshoumaru still intimidated Rin to no extent.

Sesshoumaru walked over to Rin and gave her a kiss, "How was the party?" he asked her.

"It was good. I didn't have much time to socialize; Donatella was making sure that I talked to everyone in her stead. You know how things like that go."

"I can only imagine. You look nice" he said, noticing her gown.

Rin blushed, "thank you."

"Well as touching as this all is, I'm going to take after Inuyasha and change. I'll be right back" Miroku said, walking towards his room, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" he called in a singsong voice.

Sesshoumaru and Rin shook their heads, "That man…" Rin said, "It's hard to believe that Inuyasha has put up with him for so long."

"Or maybe it's the other way around" Sesshoumaru suggested, always needing to gripe about his brother.

Rin smiled, "maybe. But what I know for sure is that I need a drink, would you mind mixing me one?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

Sesshoumaru laughed, "Of course not, what would you like?" he asked, walking over to where the alcohol was situated.

Rin walked over and sat down on a couch, "I don't care, just nothing with rum, surprise me."

"Hey bro while you're at it, make it double for me!" Inuyasha said as he walked out of his room in jeans and a red shirt.

"Make your own, I'm not dating you" Sesshoumaru said as he poured alcohol into the shaker.

"But Sess, that's not what you told me last night, and to think I gave you my virginity!" Inuyasha said jokingly, laughing at his own genius.

Rin laughed and Sesshoumaru looked at her as he poured her drink from the shaker into a glass, "Please don't encourage him Rin."

"Sorry, that was funny though, have a sense of humor Sesshoumaru" she said, taking the drink from him and taking a sip. "This is good…what is it?"

"Not telling." Sesshoumaru said as he made himself a captain and coke and sat down on the couch next to Rin.

"I guess it kills you to do me a favor and make me a drink…I'll remember that next time you ask me for a favor" Inuyasha said as he mixed himself a vodka and tonic.

"When is the last time I asked you for a favor Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Um…well, never, but you just wait, you'll need my help eventually."

"You sure about that Yash? Sesshoumaru sure has plenty of connections, I'm sure he could do anything he wanted" Miroku said, walking out of his room, changed into dark jeans and a purple polo.

"Shut up Miroku! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I calls em when I sees em Yash, sorry" he said with a smile, and put an empty glass on the counter and pouring some vodka into it. He rummaged around the cabinets for a second, "Hey! Where's the Kahlua? I can't make a white Russian without Kahlua!"

"It's on the counter genius" Inuyasha said, pointing to the bottle of Kahlua which was situated almost right in front of Miroku.

"Well I feel dumb now" Miroku said, his face reddening, "But whatever." He poured the Kahlua into the cup and added cream, stirring before taking a sip, "Amazing…as usual. So what did you think of the party?" he asked Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shrugged, "It was alright, I've been to better parties in Japan, and even in America."

"You're full of shit Yash, as always. I'm sure you don't meet gorgeous girls like my new model at parties in Japan and America."

"Good point."

"What did you think of her? Are you going to call her again? Did she give you her number?" Miroku asked.

"I liked her okay? And if I'm not too busy and she's not too busy I am planning on calling her again, happy?"

Miroku smiled and took a sip of his drink, "Yes as a matter o' fact I am. Because you weren't the only one who met a gorgeous model tonight you know."

"That's right, Miroku met an angel" Inuyasha said to Sesshoumaru in a love-struck voice.

"Stop is Yash! You're such an ass. And she might as well have been an angel, she was so gorgeous. She's done Paris you know and she's only been in the business for a short time and she's done Paris for the past three years. Do you know how impressive that is?"

"Miroku, I'm gonna say this and it's going to sound mean. I really don't care. But I'm sure you do and I'm sure you're meant for each other and all that noise. I need another drink before I start talking about your crush, you know, just to dull the blow a little."

"You are an ass" Sesshoumaru said, agreeing with Miroku's earlier statements, "Don't you think so Rin?" he asked her.

"Well, um, I guess" she stuttered out, not wanting to offend anyone.

"Thanks Rin, that makes me feel so good about myself" Inuyasha said, pretending to be hurt by her comments, "I'll be back guys, I just need to go cut myself a little." He said, walking towards the bathroom.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing!?" Rin yelled, "Get back in here and stop being a baby!"

Inuyasha turned around and smiled at Rin, "Wow, so you can raise your voice, good job."

"Sorry"

"Why are you sorry? That was funny, don't be so submissive, speak up for yourself!"

"Can you stop yelling at me?" Rin asked, "I've got it. I'm just not used to speaking up, I am a personal assistant, I speak up for other people."

Sesshoumaru laughed, "Of course you do Rin, don't listen to Inuyasha, he doesn't know what he is saying half the time."

"Thanks Sesshoumaru, for making me sound like a complete retard" Inuyasha said.

"What else is an older brother for?" Sesshoumaru asked with a smile.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed" Inuyasha said, downing the rest of his drink and walking into his room.

"What a party pooper" Miroku said, pouring another white Russian and sitting on the couch opposite Rin and Sesshoumaru. He glanced up at the clock, "Wow, it's two…maybe it is time to go to bed." He looked at Sesshoumaru and Rin, "Are you two staying over?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin, making the decision up to her.

"Well, I obviously can't drive home because I've had my fair share to drink and it's a hassle to go across town so if you don't mind it would be nice to stay over." She said; looking at Sesshoumaru who smiled and she knew she had made the right decision.

"All right, that's fine. You can sleep on the futon, just pull it out. I'll go get a blanket and pillows" Miroku said, walking to the hall closet and pulling bedding out of it and throwing it on the futon. He finished his drink and put the glass in the washing machine; along with all the other glasses from the night.

"Night" he said and then walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin, still in her gown. "Do you have anything else to wear?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, but I guess I can just sleep in my underwear or something" she said.

Sesshoumaru thought for a second and then began to unbutton his shirt. He slipped it off and handed it to Rin, "Wear this" he said.

"Thanks" she said, taking it from him and beginning to climb out of her dress. After much difficulty she got out of it and put the shirt on, buttoning the middle buttons. It fit her like a nightshirt and Sesshoumaru had never seen her look cuter.

"I'm sorry your highness, but I'm going to have to take your tiara" he said with a smile, pulling the tiara out of her hair and putting it on the coffee table. He then pulled the futon into bed position and made it, pulling the covers away so that Rin could climb in. she got into bed and he walked over to the door, making sure it was locked and turned the lights off. He walked over to the futon and she moved over so he could climb into bed beside her, he climbed in and pulled her close to her.

"I don't want to see anyone else" he whispered into her ear.

Rin was shocked, Sesshoumaru Kimura was a notorious playboy and she had heard once that he boasted to have never been exclusive with any girl in his life. Rin began to date him knowing that, and even though she wanted him to be only hers, she was willing to date him. She was so taken aback that she thought she had imagined him saying that.

"Rin?" he asked.

"Sesshoumaru?"

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes. But Sesshoumaru, you've never seen anyone exclusively" she stammered out.

"I know that, but I've never met a girl like you." He whispered in her ear, "So…"

"I would love to Sesshoumaru" Rin said and kissed him.

The spooned together and fell asleep, Rin with a smile on her face and Sesshoumaru looking more contented then he ever let anyone believe he was.

* * *

_Authoress' Note: well I didn't move on to the next day, sorry about that. But I want to post this and I don't have the brain capacity to write more. So expect a chapter tomorrow sometime probably. In the meantime…REVIEW!_


	7. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: nothing. That's what I own…nothing.**

_Authoress' Note: I love reviews! Yay! Please, please, please review. If you take the time to read the chapter, you can at least let me know how you liked it, or didn't like it. Please? I will update faster if I get more reviews…is that incentive? Maybe?_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Seven _

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" Kagome's alarm clock ripped through her dreams and sent her crashing back down to reality. She looked at the clock and the red numbers 8:45 glared back at her. She groaned and turned the alarm off as she climbed out of bed. The only thing making her get up was the thought of the Versace go-see. She was ecstatic to go and prove to them that she was the one they wanted…although they did make a point to introduce her to the photographer. (_Authoress' Note: sorry to interrupt but I have discovered an amazingly big plot hole…like so big I could drive a mack truck through it. So for the second time so far I'm gonna need to be doing some imagining. I'm going to make it so that Miroku had never met Kagome before the party; he had only heard of her from Inuyasha, that's how he knew she was in Milan. Okay? They weren't friends before or anything like that…they have met once. I think that clears up the mack truck sized plot hole. And now back to your regularly scheduled chapter.)_

She climbed out of bed and stretched before walking to her closet. Wanting to make the best impression possible she picked out her best "model" outfit. She took off her pajamas and then changed her underwear. She slipped into a pair of dark wash skinny jeans that flared a little at the bottom. She took a plain black tank top and put it on. She brushed her hair and then pulled into a low messy bun. Looking at herself in the mirror she smiled, "You Kagome Higurashi, look like a model. A supermodel." She said to herself with a smile. She grabbed a pair of black pointy toed pumps and walked out of her room into the living room. Sango was up in the kitchen, making herself coffee as she read a book.

"Good morning!" she said with a smile.

"You always were an early bird Sango, quarter after nine? Ungodly to me unless I have to work." Kagome said, getting a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"I like the weather in the morning, and it's the only time this place is quiet, so I like reading." She said, pouring the coffee into a mug, "You like Oscar Wilde right?"

Kagome took a sip of her water, "Yeah, he was my favorite in high school, why?"

"Oscar Wilde said that 'Fashion is an ugliness so intolerable we have to alter it every six months' kinda mean but mostly true. Right?"

Kagome shrugged, "Yeah, it makes sense, but I don't think it's ugliness as he said. But oh well, I need to get going. Enjoy the quiet and enjoy your book." She said, slipping her shoes on and slipping the water into her purse. She grabbed her portfolio and left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

**-Meanwhile…at Inuyasha's and Miroku's-**

Inuyasha rolled over in bed as the sunlight streamed in through the blinds. He slowly opened his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. He sat up in bed and yawned, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the clock on the bedside table next to him, "Nine thirty?" he asked, "Why am I awake?"

He turned to go back to sleep when he saw the folded napkin sitting under the clock. The girl from last night told him not to open it until the morning and he had obliged her request. He sat up again and reached for the napkin. Unfolding it he looked at the words written on the napkin and could hardly believe his eyes.

"_Inuyasha, I'm ashamed. If you can't recognize me with a wig on I guess we really have lost our chemistry. Call all you want but I won't answer. I guess we just weren't meant to be. (Was Once) Yours, Kagome."_

"That was her? What the fuck is wrong with me?!" he shouted at himself. He jumped out of bed and ran into the living room where Rin and Sesshoumaru were still sleeping. He walked angrily to the coffee maker and set it up to make a pot. Still swearing at himself he opened his phone and dialed Kagome's number.

It rang five times before her voicemail picked up, "Hey guys! This is Kagome; I obviously can't answer your call so leave me a message!"

He heard the beep and took a breath, "Listen Kagome, I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you last night! I was drunk and you didn't look like you. I haven't seen you in five years Kags, you've changed, you look different. How was I supposed to know? I'm sorry Kags, just please call me back. Bye." He hung up his phone, praying that she would understand and call him back.

"I'm such a dumbass" he said to himself.

"I'll agree, but what did you do this time?" Sesshoumaru asked, waking up and walking over to Inuyasha, waiting for the coffee to be done.

"None of your goddamn business Sesshoumaru. I already feel dumb enough, I don't need you to tell me what a fuck up I am."

Sesshoumaru shrugged, "Whatever you say little brother, when the coffee is done could you be a dear and pour me a cup?" he asked in a fake sweet voice.

"A dear? Sesshoumaru you're such an idiot. But yes I can. Do you want one Rin?" he called to Rin who was just waking up on the futon.

She mumbled something that Inuyasha took as a "yes" and climbed to the edge of the futon and sat up.

Inuyasha took three mugs out of the cupboard and put them in a row on the counter. He heard the coffee pot ding and then poured the pot into the three mugs, carrying two over to Sesshoumaru and Rin and returning to the kitchen for his.

Rin looked at the clock on her cell phone and jumped up, nearly spilling her coffee over everything. "I have to go to work! I have to be there in a half hour! I'm screwed!" she shouted and began hurrying around the apartment, getting her things together.

"Rin, calm down. I'll go downstairs and get you a cab." Sesshoumaru said, walking out the apartment door and out to the street.

"Rin! Are you ready?!" he yelled into the apartment as he hailed a cab. He leaned in to talk to the driver and paid him for Rin's ride home. Rin walked out the apartment, still wearing his shirt as a dress and carrying her tiara and gown in her arms. He leaned down and kissed her as she climbed in the cab.

"Get her home as fast as possible" he said to the cab driver and then waved to Rin as the cab drove away and he walked back into the apartment.

The cab ride was remarkably short and Rin arrived at her apartment in ten minutes. She went to pay the cab driver, only to have him teller that it was already paid for.

She got out of the cab and ran up the stairs to her apartment's door, she stuck the key in the door, opening it and rushing in. she threw her gown on the couch and ran to her room, barely remembering to close the door behind her.

She stripped down as she walked to her bedroom, grabbing a bra and panties out of her dresser and putting them on as she walked to her closet. She reached into the closet and pulled out the first suit she saw. She slipped the knee-lengthed, A-Line Glenn plaid skirt on and stepped into a pair of plain tan pointy toed pumps. She grabbed a light fuchsia shirt and put it on and ran out of the room with her suit jacket in her hand. She walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and took a quick sip before putting the jacket on and buttoning it. She grabbed her briefcase and bottle of water and ran out the door, locking it behind her.

Walking out to the street, she held her hand out of a cab, praying she got one quickly today. To her excitement a cab almost instantly pulled up to the curb and she climbed in.

"Versace please" she said, "And please hurry."

The cab sped down the streets of Milan until it arrived at Versace. Rin looked at the watch, she had one minute to get into the building to be on time. She threw money to the driver and climbed out of the car, running into the building. She lucked out and caught an elevator right away and pressed the button to the 14th floor.

The elevator rose 14 floors and the doors opened, and Rin rushed out. She scurried down the hall to Donatella's office was. She threw her coat and briefcase at the secretary and rushed into the room where she saw Donatella sitting with a now black-haired Kagome Higurashi. She opened the door and walked in.

"I am so sorry, I lost track of time" she said, sitting down next to Donatella.

"That is all right Rin; do not let it happen again. We have yet to begin so you are somewhat on time."

Rin nodded and looked across the table at Kagome. "You brought your portfolio I trust?" she asked, "Donatella would like to take a look at your work."

"Of course" Kagome said, reaching into her portfolio bag and pulling out two binders worth of photos. "These are my personal favorites" she said, pointing to the binder on the left, "The other one is promotional shots for various things."

Donatella looked at the pictures carefully, liking each one better than the one before.

"This is very impressive Miss Higurashi. Based on these photos I believe you will be perfect for our summer line. But just to be sure, there are some outfits in that room over there, please go and try them on." she said, pointing to a door in the back corner of the room.

"I'll be right back" Kagome said, walking into the back room. She came back out shortly after wearing a peach colored sundress. She did all of the go-see standards, the walk, the pose and the Polaroids. She repeated her actions in two other outfits before changing back into her normal clothes and rejoining Donatella and Rin at the conference table.

"Thank you very much for coming Kagome. I would very much like it if you would be the model that promotes our summer line." Donatella said with a smile on her face.

"I would be honored. Thank you so much!" Kagome said, barely managing to keep her excitement in check.

"I expect you here tomorrow morning at nine o'clock to meet with your photographer and to get some shots done. All right?"

"Yes, of course. I will be here. Thank you again, so much." She said as she walked out of the room and down the hall.

Donatella watched Kagome walk down the hall to the elevator, she turned to Rin. "She is very promising, isn't she Rin?"

Rin nodded, "I agree. I met her last night at the ball and she certainly has a good deal of potential. She seems to get along with Mr. Kashi as well, I introduced them and they seemed to hit it off."

"That's good. I guess we will see tomorrow how much talent she really has."

**-With Kagome-**

Kagome was walking on air when she left Versace and heading towards her apartment. She pulled her phone out of her purse and saw that she had a voicemail. She dialed her voicemail and entered her passcode. She waited for a minute before her phone retrieved her message.

"One new message. Press one to hear your message" her phones computerized voice said.

She pressed one and heard Inuyasha's voice talking to her.

"Listen Kagome, I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you last night! I was drunk and you didn't look like you. I haven't seen you in five years Kags, you've changed, you look different. How was I supposed to know? I'm sorry Kags, just please call me back. Bye."

"Press Seven to delete this message, Press Eight to hear this message again, Press Nine to save this message" her cell phones voice said again.

Kagome's finger lingered above the "7" button for a while before she pressed the "9" button to save his message. She was surprised at herself; she had given him the note and told him not to call her. She had convinced herself that it would be better for them to never get involved again, especially now since her career was about to explode. She didn't have time for a boyfriend, she didn't even have time for much of a social life, but something inside of her told her to hang on just a little while longer. Something was telling her to call him and see him again, but something bigger was telling her to forget him and move on.

She ended her call with her voicemail and opened her phone's address book. She scrolled down til she found Inuyasha's number and pressed the "TALK" button.

It ran twice before Inuyasha picked it up. He looked at his phone, estatic to see that Kagome was calling him back. He answered it so quickly that he almost dropped it.

"Hello? Kags?" he asked excitedly.

"Hi." She said, "I guess we need to talk Inuyasha."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: yes, I know I'm mean that I don't let you know what they're going to talk about. Boo hoo. Sorry to be mean but it's necessary and you'll thank me later. Please please review or you never know how long it's going to be until you get the next chapter…and yes that was a threat. Actually, it was more of a threat-lette…a mini threat. Or something…I don't know. Just review please._


	8. The Mirror

**Disclaimer: I own it! (April Fool's!)**

_Authoress' Note: thanks for all the reviews guys…youre the best ever in the world ever._

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Eight_

Inuyasha couldn't believe what he was hearing; Kagome, who had told him never to call her, was calling him back! He was so excited that he forgot that she had said something.

"Inuyasha?" she asked.

"Sorry. I drifted off. What's up Kags?" he asked.

"I told you not to call me Inuyasha. You can't even listen for two seconds?" she said at him in an annoyed tone.

"But Kags, what we had as more than that…you know that." He said in a semi-pleading voice.

"Inuyasha, you don't get what is happening to me right now. I'm the new model for Versace's summer line, while still shooting for Gucci and Valentino. I don't have time for myself, so why would you think I would have time for you?" she said and although Inuyasha couldn't see it, she had begun to silently cry. "Inuyasha, I can't do this. I can't do us…you're only here for the summer anyway. What am I supposed to do? Fall head over heels in love with you again only for you to leave? I had to say good bye to you once Inuyasha; and I had hoped that would be the only time."

"But Kagome…do you still care for me at all?" Inuyasha asked, trying desperately to change her attitude, even though part of him knew it was a futile attempt.

"I still love you Inuyasha, and that's the problem." She said and then sadly drew her phone away from her ear and snapped it shut.

She had begun to cry harder until she realized that she was still in public. She hurried home and when she walked in the door she didn't even acknowledge Sango on the balcony or Ayame in the kitchen, she just walked straight back to her room, slamming the door behind her. 

* * *

Inuyasha threw his phone against the wall and stormed into his room. He slammed the door, rattling the whole apartment and nearly knocking Sesshoumaru's drink over. Sesshoumaru sat up from his place on the couch and looked at Inuyasha's door. 

"What the hell was that about?" he asked no one in particular, but said it loud enough so he hoped Inuyasha had heard it.

* * *

"What was that?" Ayame yelled to Sango from the kitchen.

Sango walked into the apartment, leaving her book and drink on the balcony. "I don't know. I've never seen her like that…ever" Sango said, not understanding Kagome's weird behavior.

"We can try talking to her" Ayame suggested and Sango nodded. They walked over to Kagome's door and knocked.

"Kags? Are you okay?"

* * *

Sesshoumaru stood up and walked down the hall to Inuyasha's door. He pounded on it a couple times, "WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?! GET OUT HERE!"

* * *

"LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY!" Kagome and Inuyasha both yelled.

* * *

"Kagome, please. Just let us talk to you" Ayame and Sango pleaded at Kagome's door.

* * *

"Inuyasha! Get out here and tell me what's wrong!" Sesshoumaru ordered at Inuyasha through his bedroom door.

* * *

"I said; leave me alone, I mean it. Just go away. When I'm ready to come out I will! Don't bother me!" Kagome and Inuyasha both said at their doors.

* * *

Ayame and Sango sat down in front of Kagome's door, "We'll be right out here whenever you want to talk Kags. We hope you feel better." Sango said, looking at Ayame to see that Ayame was as worried about Kagome and she was.

* * *

"Fine, be that way you little brat. I don't care if you ever come out!" Sesshoumaru said and walked back to the living room with a huff.

* * *

Kagome buried her head in her pillow and cried, she couldn't believe what she had just done. And even though she was sad for doing it now she knew that it would eventually be for the best and everything would work out. And even though part of her knew that it was for the better, her heart was still crying out for Inuyasha. She walked over to her stereo and put in a CD that was only marked with a simple heart. She put it in and skipped to track 6 and lay back down on her bed to prepare to cry once again.

_I needed to do this, I needed to do this. It's for the better, it is…it is. _She thought to herself, reassuring herself that she had done the right thing.

The stereo caught up with Kagome's quick commands and began to play track 6 of her CD, the music flooded the room as tears flooded Kagome's eyes.

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
While you're far away and dreaming  
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure._

* * *

Inuyasha sat on his bed, trying not to punch a hole through their rented wall. He took a few deep breaths that failed to calm him down. He told himself that he was not going to cry, he never cried—ever. There was only one time in his life when Inuyasha could remember himself crying…the day that Kagome left.

Shaking the memory from his head he grabbed the remote for his stereo and turned it on, picking a random radio station to listen to, the song playing had already been playing but Inuyasha knew immediately what song it was.

_Don't wanna close my eyes  
Don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you baby  
And I don't wanna miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream would never do  
I'd still miss you baby  
And I don't wanna miss a thing_

Inuyasha stared at his radio as the song poured out of the speakers…he didn't know whether this was a good sign or just some evil act to make him more miserable.

_You lost her once Inuyasha, _he told himself, _you can't lose her again. No matter what._

He walked over to his suitcase that was yet to be unpacked and dug through it. He found what he was looking for at the bottom of it. The issue of International Entertainment sat at the bottom of his suitcase, with Inuyasha's own face staring back at him. he grabbed the magazine and flipped through the pages until he found his interview and what he had been looking for. He grabbed a sharpie out of his bag and walked back over to the bed, sitting down and putting the magazine in his lap. He took a deep breath and began to write in the magazine.

* * *

_Laying close to you  
Feeling your heart beating  
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming  
Wondering if it's me you're seeing  
Then I kiss your eyes  
And thank God we're together  
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever  
Forever and ever._

Kagome got off of her bed and began to wander aimlessly around the bedroom. She didn't know what she was doing or why she was doing it, but she felt the need to move, lest she stay on her bed so long that she became a part of it. She began to aimlessly pick up clothes off the floor and putting them in her hamper. She walked to a pile of clean clothes and began to put them away.

Realizing that cleaning somehow took her mind off Inuyasha; Kagome began to clean her room; a job that hadn't been done in a while. She put everything back into its place and organized her closet. The job took less time than Kagome had accounted for and returned sadly to her bed; even though she knew it only meant she would be crying again in a short while.

She listened to the song she had played and began to remember everything about her and Inuyasha; when they started dating, why they started dating, why this was their song, why they decided to end it when Kagome left…everything. The last thing Kagome remembered before her mind went blank from crying was how Kagome felt the first few months of being in Italy. She remembered telling Sango every day that she didn't want to be there and how much she was hurting from not being with Inuyasha.

_I was young…my priorities weren't in order. I know what's important now. _She thought before collapsing into a fit of hysterical crying as the song reached the bridge; the part Inuyasha would always sing to her, acting out all of the actions in the verse. Kagome never imagined that something that once made her so happy would be making her so miserable now.

* * *

"_I don't wanna miss one smile  
I don't wanna miss one kiss  
I just wanna be with you  
Right here with you just like this  
I just wanna hold you close  
Feel your heart so close to mine  
And just stay here in this moment for all the rest of time."_

Inuyasha sang the words softly to himself as he thought through what he was writing. He knew that he had to say exactly the right things to make this work. He leaned back against his pillows, reading what was written in the magazine. He nodded slowly to himself in approval.

He took a deep breath and leaned over once again, continuing to write in the magazine. He hoped that his plan would work; he _prayed_ that his plan would work. The only problem was he knew nothing about Kagome now, where she lived, when she was home, when she worked. He had just learned the night before who she lived with, but even that didn't help him very much.

He wrote one last sentence on the page before capping his marker and blowing the words dry. He heard Miroku come into the apartment and then picked up the magazine and opened his bedroom door, walking into the living room.

"I'm going to need your help" he said to Miroku.

* * *

Kagome couldn't handle it anymore; she turned off the stereo, not allowing the song to finish. She opened the door to her bedroom to find Ayame and Sango still sitting in front of her door, just like they said they were.

"Kagome!" they said, scrambling to their feet, "Are you feeling all right?"

"I need your help guys" she said.

Ayame and Sango nodded, "Help with what?" they asked.

* * *

"Why do you need my help?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha clutched the magazine at his side and looked at his best friend, "I need your help to win her back" he said.

* * *

"There's someone I need to forget about" she said, "I'm hoping you can help me."

"Of course Kags, of course."

* * *

Miroku nodded, "All right, I'll do everything I can to help Yash."

Inuyasha nodded and smiled. His bedroom door was open and he could hear the music of the last chorus flowing out of his room.

_Don't wanna close my eyes  
Don't wanna fall asleep  
'Coz I'd miss you baby  
And I don't wanna miss a thing  
'Coz even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream would never do  
I'd still miss you baby   
And I don't wanna miss a thing._

* * *

_Authoress' Note: I really liked that chapter. I hope you did too. I thought that the mirror-like set up of the chapter would be cool and I think it came out pretty good, please review and tell me what you think!_


	9. The Proposal

**Disclaimer: nothing. I own nothing.**

_Authoress' Note: I'm sorry that this took like ten million years to get out, but I've been so incredibly busy with school work and finals…so it's hard to find time to breathe, let alone write. But here you go; I hope it was worth the wait!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Nine_

"What do you want to do Kags?" Sango asked Kagome while getting ready to leave the apartment.

Kagome shrugged, "Anything. Anything to keep my mind occupied."

"I have an idea" Ayame said, putting her coat on and grabbing her purse. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. "Hello? Yes I would like to make three appointments for as soon as possible. Mani/Pedi. Ayame Connelly. All right, see you soon." She snapped the phone closed and looked at Sango and Kagome, "We're going to the spa. Let's go" she said and walked out the apartment door.

Sango looked at Kagome and directed her at the door, "Come on Kags. Cheer up. This will be fun."

Kagome mumbled something and walked out the door and Sango followed suit, locking the door behind her.

As the three supermodels walked down the road to the spa Kagome's mind wandered to places she didn't want it going to. She was trying to forget Inuyasha and her mind kept going back to him. _STOP! _She screamed at herself and shook his image out of her head as they arrived at the front entrance to the spa.

------

"I need you to find out where Kagome is living. You're shooting her aren't you? Do you know where she lives?" Inuyasha asked Miroku, desperately needing to see her in person.

Miroku shrugged, "I don't know Yash. They didn't tell me stuff like that. I hardly know anything about her. I just have to shoot her; I don't need to be her best friend."

Inuyasha sighed, not knowing what to do. He thought for a second and then had an idea. "Give me your phone" he said, holding out his hand.

"No way. If yours doesn't work cause you threw it that isn't my problem. There's no telling what could happen to my phone if you get angry with it." Miroku said, shaking his head.

Inuyasha shook his head, "Miro, just give me your phone, I have an idea."

Miroku reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out and handed it to Inuyasha. Inuyasha took the phone and punched a number into it and handed it back to Miroku. "That's Kagome's number" he explained, "Call her and say you want to meet somewhere to talk about the shoot."

Miroku took a deep breath and looked at his best friend, "You owe me so much" he said and then pressed the SEND button.

"Is it ringing?" Inuyasha asked like an excited three year old.

"Shhh. Yes." Miroku said.

-----

Kagome was soaking her feet in a Jacuzzi tub, preparing for her pedicure when her cell phone began to ring. She reached over to the table her purse was on and grabbed her phone. She pulled it from her purse and flipped it open; putting it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Kagome? This is Miroku Kashi, your photographer for the Versace summer line shoot."

"Oh yes, hello Miroku. Is there something wrong?" she asked, not used to photographers calling her, except for Paolo, but that was beside the point.

"Oh, no there's nothing wrong at all Kagome. I was just thinking that maybe because we will be working together for the next couple of weeks that we should get to know each other better. Because if you ask me, models and their photographers don't have the relationship they used to, and that's no good."

Kagome was a little quizzical, she believed him but at the same time she knew that Miroku was living with Inuyasha while he was in Italy. She thought that it could possibly be a trick, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions and then end up being completely wrong.

"Yes, that sounds like it would be a fun time. What would you like to do?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking that perhaps I could pick you up at your apartment and we could have a casual lunch or something, unless you had another idea."

"No, that sounds fine. I know the nicest café we can go to." She said.

"All right, make the reservations. Where do you live so I can come get you?" he asked casually, not making it seem like that was the only reason he called.

"I live on Vicolo Dell' Amore. The first apartment on the corner, there is a wreath of flowers on the door" she said.

"Perfect. I'll pick you up at two tomorrow afternoon, is that all right?" Miroku asked, knowing he had successfully completed his mission.

Kagome smiled, "Sounds great. I'll see you then Miroku." she said and hung up her phone. Sango looked at Kagome from her pedicure station.

"The Miroku from the party?" she asked with a hint of jealously in her voice.

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, my photographer. We're having lunch tomorrow to discuss the upcoming shoots."

"That's nice. Although it does seem a little unorthodox."

Kagome shrugged, "It does but he's a new photographer, maybe he doesn't know that yet. Or maybe he's just a different type of photographer. And don't worry Sango; this is strictly platonic, I'm sure he'll call you for a date in no time" Kagome said with a smile, making Sango turn a nice shade of red.

"That wasn't what I meant Kagome" she said, trying to cover her tracks.

Kagome chuckled softly, "Just forget it Sango. Now…what color should I paint my toes? Bright red as always?" she asked.

"That's what color I'm going for" Sango said, laughing to herself at how alike she and Kagome were.

Ayame scoffed from her station two seats down, "Red? You two are unoriginal." She said in a joking tone, holding up her left foot; each toe painted a deep shade of emerald green.

"Green? Ayame your feet look diseased!" Kagome said with a laugh.

"I take offense to that Miss Kagome Higurashi! My feet are not diseased!" Ayame mock yelled at her.

Sango laughed while trying to hold her foot still for the pedicurist to paint her toenails, "Geez Ayame, for a model you sure are sensitive" she joked.

Kagome laughed, "Thank you guys so much, I feel so much better now. You guys really know how to cheer me up and make me laugh. Between Ayame's diseased toes and Sango's jealousy you two never cease to make me happy. I'm really grateful."

"Aww, Kagome's getting all sappy and emotional" Sango said, pretending to cry.

"I know, tear" Ayame said, tracing a tear path down her cheek with a huge smile on her face.

"Stop it guys!" Kagome said, slipping her painted toes into a pair of pedicure sandals and stood up.

"Well I'm cheered up enough for the moment. Ready to head home?" she asked, looking to Ayame and Sango, who also were putting pedicure sandals on.

"Yeah, I'll call us a cab" Ayame said, walking out of the room after telling the receptionist to bill her later.

Sango and Kagome linked arms and smiling walked out of the spa. Ayame had gotten them a cab by the time they waddled with wet toes out to the street. The cab ride was short and in ten minutes time they were back at their apartment. They climbed out of the cab, laughing and smiling and walked to their door. Kagome looked down and saw something sticking out of the bottom of the door. She pulled it out to see Inuyasha's face smiling back at her with his classic half smile. She was about to throw the magazine as far away from her as she saw something written on the cover.

Sango and Ayame opened the door to the apartment and began to hobble up the stairs, leaving Kagome standing in the doorway holding the magazine.

"Kags? You coming?" Sango asked, looking down the stairs from the apartment's door.

"Yeah, I'll be up in a second" she said and she heard the door close as Sango walked into the apartment.

She stared down at the magazine and read what was written there. The words on the cover, "Inuyasha Kimura! We have the exclusive interview!", were circled and under that _Page 68. Go there. _was written in sharpie.

She flipped through the magazine until she reached page 68. She stared down at what was circled on that page; the question she had read weeks before, the question about Inuyasha's love life.

She saw that Inuyasha had written something on the page opposite the interview, with a picture of Inuyasha posing. The message was written right across the picture, showing no regard for the picture under it. She was about to read what it said when a shadow was cast over her. She looked up to see Kouga standing above her, in the setting sunlight.

"Good read?" he asked her with a smile.

Kagome managed a small laugh, "Something like that" she said.

He helped her to her feet and they stood face to face. Kagome looked Kouga up and down; she hadn't seen him dressed as nice as he was since his and Ayame's last anniversary.

"You look nice. Big night tonight?" she asked, opening the door and letting him walk in before her.

Kouga smiled at her as they walked up the stairs and put his hand on the door knob. "Huge" he said and pushed the door open.

Kagome left Kouga in the living room with Sango, who was eating dinner, and walked into her room. As she passed Ayame's door she knocked twice "Kouga's here" she said and then walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

Ayame walked out of her room in a plain emerald green halter dress. She wore a diamond necklace and bracelet to give some flair to her outfit. Her hair was straightened and left down, long and sleek. She was holding her matching clutch in one hand and her black stilettos in the other hand.

She looked at Kouga and smiled, "You look so nice tonight hon" she said.

"Thanks" he said.

"I feel underdressed now" she said and laughed softly.

"With all those diamonds? I doubt you'll be considered underdressed." He said and stuck his hands in his pockets. He took a deep breath, "But just in case you still feel underdressed, I think I have something to help you out." He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and sunk down on one knee. Ayame looked at Sango, who had a huge smile on her face and then looked back at Kouga. Not comprehending what was happening. "Ayame Colleen Connelly. Since we first met you have captivated me, enticed me and made my life amazing. Now I know that you are the only woman I want to be with for the rest of my life. You're it for me Ayame, I love you so much. Will you marry me?" he pulled back the top of the box to reveal a ring; a diamond in the middle with small emeralds on either side.

Ayame stared down at the ring and Kouga; for the first time in her life completely speechless.

"Kouga– "

------

_Authoress' Note: I know, I know I suck cause I'm addicted to cliffhangers. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out in a week. I hope you liked this chapter! Please review!_


	10. The Letter

**Attention Fanfic readers!  
I own nothing.  
That is all.**

_Authoress' Note: wow, you must be thinking how lucky you are, because I'm updating twice in such a short amount of time. Well, you are lucky. So there. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review._

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Ten_

"Yes. Nothing would make me happier Kouga" Ayame said to Kouga's delight. He took the ring out of the box and slid it onto Ayame's left ring finger – it was a perfect fit. Ayame waited for Kouga to stand and then jumped into his arms, kissing him.

Ayame then realized that Sango was still in the room and looked over to her and they shared a moment of silence before they both started screaming. Ayame ran over to Sango and they hugged as they jumped around in a circle, still screaming. Kagome emerged from her room with watery eyes to see what the noise was about.

"What's going on?" she asked, wiping her eyes off.

Ayame rushed at Kagome, nearly tackling her and shoving her hand in her face, "I'm getting married!" she shouted.

Kagome took a moment to register what had just happened and then reacted the same way that Sango had – with an ear piercing scream.

Kouga watched the three girls jump around and shook his head slowly, _if I would have known this would have happened I wouldn't have asked her in front of Sango and Kagome._ He thought but smiled in knowing that she was happy and therefore, he was happy.

"Not to break this up, but our reservations are in ten minutes Ayame." he said, breaking up the "party" she was having with Sango and Kagome.

"Of course. Let's go then" Ayame said, walking towards the door, she turned her head over her shoulder, "Have a good night guys. I'll be back late" she said and her and Kouga left the apartment.

Kagome, no longer finding a purpose in being in the living room, went back into her room; leaving Sango alone in the living room.

"I don't know what her problem is" Sango said to herself, "But I'm not going to let it get me down" she sat on the couch and flipped the television to the fashion network and prepared herself for a long night

-----

Kagome climbed into bed and got under the covers. She pulled the magazine off of her bedside table and opened to page 68 for the third time.

She stared down and read what was written there again – this time she read it aloud just hoping that it would prove to be unreal; to her dismay, it was even more real.

_Kagome,_

_I know that you want nothing to do with me, and truthfully I can't blame you. You made the smart decision in putting your career first; you truly know what you want. But although you are being smart, you are deceiving your heart. I said what I said in this interview because it was true. I let you get away from me once Kagome Higurashi; and now that I have a chance to be with you again and I'm not going to give it up; I won't lose you again. And I am willing to do everything it takes to get you back. Please give me a chance to prove that I will be worth it. I'll go whatever you want: quit acting, move to Italy, anything at all. Name it. Just give me a chance, don't count me out of your life just yet. I love you Kagome and no matter what I will always love you. Don't punish yourself because of a job, be happy Kagome. Be happy _with me

_-Inuyasha_

A single tear rolled down Kagome's cheek and landed on Inuyasha's face. "Inuyasha Kimura…I don't even know where to start" she said to herself as she stared down at Inuyasha's oh-so-familiar writing. Sure he had written her love letters before, but nothing he had written her had been like this. Always the aspiring actor, he usually took quotes from movies and other things; but looking down at his words Kagome knew that every word came directly from his heart.

"_Be happy Kagome"_ the words ran through her head, she could hear his voice saying them; she knew he was sincere, that wasn't her problem. She was afraid of what would happen if she was to fall in love with him again. She wasn't willing to stop modeling, she had worked too hard. But she didn't want him to give up his dream either…it was the paradox to end all paradoxes. She took a deep breath and took the phone off her bedside table and dialed Inuyasha's number.

"I better be making the right decision." She told herself and she listened to the phone ring.

-----

"Yash! Your phone is ringing!" Miroku called from the living room.

"Let it ring! I don't want to talk to anyone!" Inuyasha called from his bedroom.

Miroku walked over to Inuyasha's phone and looked at the caller ID. "Yash! It's Kagome! I think you want to get this one!" he yelled.

Inuyasha came running out of his room and grabbed the phone out of Miroku's hand and flipped it open. "Hello?" he asked, sounding as nonchalant and casual as possible.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice came over the receiver.

"Uh huh. How are you Kags?" he asked.

"I got your note. It made me cry."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want it to make you cry Kags. I just wanted you to know how I feel. And I meant every word."

"I know Inuyasha. I could tell that it was genuine. And I thank you for that."

"So why are you calling?" he asked her, "Just to tell me that you got the magazine?"

"No. not exactly, no" she said, not wanting to tell him her true intentions right away.

"Then what?"

"I was calling to ask you something"

"What?" he asked, getting anxious and hoping that she called for a good reason.

"What now?" she asked simply.

"What do you mean what now? Kags, I don't understand. Are you saying that you want to try this? You want to give us a shot?"

"That's not what I'm saying Inuyasha. What I'm saying is that I want to spend time with you; I want to know if being with you is worth it a second chance. I want to know how we will be five years after the fact. I'm hoping that it will be the best decision."

"Kagome, that's good enough for me. I just want to see you again, I've missed you."

Kagome smiled, even though she knew Inuyasha couldn't see, "I've missed you too. I'm having lunch with Miroku tomorrow, why don't you tag along and I'll bring Sango? It will be fun."

Inuyasha nodded, "All right. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow. Good night Inuyasha"

"Good night" Inuyasha hung his phone up and sighed. He had never been happier; she was giving him a second chance, he could win her over again.

He put the phone back on the coffee table and plugged it into the charger. He walked to his room and got ready for bed. He had a big day tomorrow and didn't want to spend the whole night gallivanting and meet Kagome dark circled and cranky. He took his shirt off and changed into his pajama pants and crawled into bed. As he fell asleep, he dreamed of meeting Kagome again and fell asleep with a smile.

----

Kagome leaned back in bed and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. _I better have done the right thing._ She thought and then shimmied down under her covers and fell asleep.

_It should prove to be a very eventful day…I hope._

------

_Authoress' Note: I know it's really short. But I'm exhausted and I wanted to get the chapter out before I went to bed. After finals are over and I'm home for the summer I'm going to make the chapters longer and whatnot. Well, I hope you enjoyed, because although it was short, a lot happened. Let me know what you think!_


	11. The Article

**Disclaimer: still don't own it…I wish**

_Authoress' Note: I'm officially done with college for the summer! And I'm officially a sophomore! Wow…time flies. So now hopefully I'll have some time to write more often than before. So enjoy this chapter! I'll try to make it semi-longer…or at least longer than the last couple have been. ____ Please review!_

_And one other thing…99 reviews! I'm shocked. Whoever gives me the 100__th__ review…well I will love you. So there!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Eleven_

---**Earlier That Night**---

Kouga and Ayame were floating on air the whole walk to the restaurant. When they arrived there, it was obvious that all eyes were on them. Not that Ayame minded, but she wondered why they were getting so much attention; usually those in Milan were somewhat fashion-savvy, but it was rare that a whole restaurant noticed Ayame and Kouga.

Not thinking about it too long, Ayame followed Kouga and the hostess to their usual table in the back corner of the restaurant. The waiter promptly arrived shortly after they were seated.

"Do you know what you want to drink?" he asked.

"Yes, I would like a bottle of your best champagne" Kouga said, smiling at Ayame; who held his hand under the table.

"Of course Mr. Misaki" the waiter said, walking towards the kitchen.

Kouga turned to Ayame and gave her a kiss, "Order whatever you want Ayame, we're celebrating."

"All right, in that case, I'm getting the fillet minion" she said with a big smile as the waiter returned with an ice bucket and the champagne. He popped the cork and poured two glasses, giving them to Ayame and Kouga. Kouga raised his glass and Ayame followed suit.

"To us. And to soon to be married life" he said and they clinked glasses and drank.

They ordered their meals as they chatted and drank champagne. The food came and soon enough they were ready to leave. Kouga paid the bill, leaving a generous tip and escorted Ayame out of the restaurant.

They walked down the familiar path from the restaurant to Ayame's apartment, passing familiar landmarks and familiar people. As they walked by a news kiosk, something caught Ayame's eye. She stopped walking and turned to walk back to what she saw. Kouga caught her hand and tried to pull her in the opposite direction.

"Come on; let's get back to your place. It's getting late." He said.

"No, this will only take a second." She assured him and approached the news kiosk. She took the tabloid that had caught her eye off of the rack and stared at it in disbelief.

On the cover of the magazine was a picture of her and Kouga seemingly ripped in half. The title read "IT'S OVER! Fashion's number one couple calls it quits after over two years! All the juicy details on page 45."

Ayame looked from the magazine and then back to Kouga, "What is this?!" she asked him forcefully. "Did you know about this?!"

Kouga tried to calm her down and stop her from making a scene in public, but he realized it was going to be harder than he thought.

Ayame began to cry softly and then turned to the man working the kiosk. "How much?" she asked, holding the magazine; needing to know what was written about her relationship.

"Three Euros"

Ayame reached into her clutch and handed the money to the man and began to walk away, without Kouga.

"Ayame! Wait for me!" Kouga shouted, hurrying after her. Once he caught up he walked alongside her in silence for a while, watching her furiously flip through the pages to get to the cover story.

"Ayame, it's just a tabloid. It's not true, you know that! Why are you acting like this, it's not like this is the first tabloid you've ever been in" he said, trying to reason with her.

She looked up from the magazine and stopped moving, "Kouga…have you seen this before?" she asked, and he knew that there was no use lying to her.

"Yes" he said simply, not feeling a need to say anything more than that.

She shook her head and continued walking, all the while reading snippets of the story aloud for Kouga to hear.

"'After two plus years of supposed bliss,'" Ayame read, "'the face of Prada and photographer whose pictures made her famous have called it quits. Sources say that Ayame and Kouga ended the relationship because Ayame was upset that Kouga had yet to ask her to marry him.' Is that why you proposed to me Kouga?! Because of this story? You wanted to show everyone in the world that this wasn't true? Do you even want to marry me?"

"Of course I do Ayame. I want you to be my wife more than anything. This story doesn't mean anything; I want to be with you more than ever. I want to get married and maybe even start a family some day." He told her, desperately trying to save himself.

"But did you realize that because of this story?" she asked, holding the magazine so he could see. "Is this why you realized that?"

"Ayame"

"Please" she begged. "Just tell me the truth."

Kouga took a deep breath, "Yes"

Ayame began to run down the street, throwing the magazine at Kouga's feet before she did so.

"Ayame wait!" he yelled, running after her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to run fast enough in her shoes to outrun him. He caught her shortly after, holding her shoulders in place so she couldn't run from him again.

"Will you just LISTEN TO ME?!" he yelled at her.

Kouga had never before yelled at her, and Ayame was petrified. She nodded slightly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Yes, the story is what made me propose to you, I didn't want anyone thinking we were over. But I was thinking of proposing before this whole ordeal, this is just what pushed me to do it. It was _me_, believe me."

He let go of her and she just stood stationary, staring at him. She slid the ring off of her finger and handed it to him, "Then maybe you should wait until you know for sure this is what you want. Make it prompted by you, not by a tabloid." She said softly. "I love you so much Kouga, you don't even know. And I anxiously await the day we get married, but I want to know it's only you. I'll see you tomorrow" she said softly, kissing him and walking away towards her home.

Kouga tightened a fist around the ring and put in into his pocket. He hailed a cab and went back to his apartment to sleep this whole ordeal off.

Ayame had a short walk to her apartment. She unlocked the door, walked up the stairs and walked into the apartment. She slipped her shoes off, locked the door behind her and softly walked to her room, not wanting to wake anyone up. She slipped out of her dressed and put on a pair of terry cloth shorts and a tank top. She pulled away the covers and climbed into bed and fell into a sad and dreamless seep.

---**The Next Morning**---

Kagome's alarm tore through her dream. A single hand emerged from a cave of blankets and fumbled around the bedside table before hitting the snooze button and withdrawing back into the cave. Nine minutes of peaceful sleep swept over Kagome before the screaming sound of the alarm clock interrupted her sleep once again. She pulled the covers off of her head in a huff and stared at her clock. The huge, red numbers of the clock spelled out the time: **10:09**.

"Oh come on, I want to go back to sleep" she groaned, hitting the snooze button again and pulling the covers back over her head.

Once again, nine minutes later Kagome was smacking her alarm clock and trying to sleep again. "I don't have to go to lunch until two…why do I need to be up this early?" Kagome whined to herself from under a shroud of her covers.

Just as Kagome had fallen back asleep, she heard a knocking on her door. "Kags! Are you up?!" Sango called to her.

Kagome groaned and threw the covers from her bed, turning her alarm clock off as she did so. "I am now!" she called and climbed out of bed, padding her way to the bedroom door. She unlocked the door and opened it.

"Yes?" she asked with as much insincere sweetness as she could muster.

"Sorry Kags, I heard your alarm going off so I assumed that you were awake. If I would have know you were sleeping I wouldn't have knocked." Sango spurted out, feeling terrible for waking Kagome up.

Kagome shook her head and smiled, "No, no don't worry about it hun. What do you want?"

"Are you going out to lunch with Miroku?" she asked.

"Yes, and so are you"

"Wait, what?"

Kagome smiled, "Well I decided something…and that involves a double date lunch. Miroku and Inuyasha are coming here to pick us up at two. So I'm going to take a shower." She said, walking past Sango and into the bathroom. She turned the water on and slipped out of her pajamas. She had just climbed into the shower and shampooed her hair when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"WHAT!" Kagome yelled, sticking her head out of the shower curtain.

Sango poked her head in the door, "Kags, I think you need to come here." She said in a worried tone.

"I just got in Sango, can it wait?"

Sango looked at Kagome, "I don't think so" she said and Kagome knew that it had to be serious.

"Let me rinse my hair and I'll be right out" she said, pulling her head back into the curtain and rinsing her hair out. She turned the water off and wrapped her hair in a towel. She grabbed her bathrobe off of the toilet and put it on, tying the belt around her waist. She walked out of the bathroom, but couldn't see the emergency Sango was talking about.

"Sango?" she called.

"In here!" she heard Sango's voice coming from Ayame's room.

Kagome opened Ayame's door to reveal Sango holding a crying Ayame. Kagome walked over and sat on the bed on the other side of Ayame.

"Oh sweetie, what happened? You were so happy last night" she said, rubbing her back.

"Kouga…Kouga…he only…he only" Ayame choked out between tears.

"He only what?"

Ayame looked at Sango and nodded. Sango looked at Kagome and sighed, "There was a story in the tabloids this week about Kouga and Ayame breaking up because Kouga hadn't proposed. So basically she saw the story on their way back from dinner and he told her that he proposed just to prove that the story wasn't true. So she gave him back the ring and told him to wait until he really wanted it. And he hasn't called her yet this morning."

"Aw, sweetie. I'm so sorry. I'm sure everything will be fine…he was just nervous that's all. He didn't want people thinking it was true, he just values your relationship that's all." Kagome said, trying to comfort her as best she could.

Ayame nodded and sat up, wiping her eyes, "You're probably right…but I don't know Kags. It just seems…off. This is what I wanted, but I didn't want it stemming from a tabloid…why would they say things like that in the first place? I don't understand Kagome!"

"Shhh." Kagome said, smoothing Ayame's hair out of her face, "Everything will work itself out for the best sweetie. Just have faith. Kouga's a great guy; there is no doubt in my mind that he will do the right thing. He's not dumb enough to let you get too far away from him."

Ayame nodded and then looked from Sango to Kagome, "Thank you, both of you. You don't know how much you guys mean to me."

"Anytime hun, that's what we're here for. But now I have to go and put some clothes on" Kagome said, standing up.

"All right, have fun at your lunch today. I won't be home later tonight; I have a go-see"

"At night? That's weird" Sango said.

"Yeah, I know. But I don't question it. This client could be awesome, but I don't want to jinx it. Well you two get ready for lunch. We'll talk later tonight. Have fun tonight" she said, shooing them out of her room to go get ready for the day.

Kagome walked into her room and took the towel off her hair. She toweled off her hair a little before walking to her closet to decide what to wear. For the first time, she had no idea what to wear; she had no idea what someone is supposed to wear to meet with the only person they've ever loved after five years of separation. Part of her wanted to dress to make him want her even more but the other part of her wanted to dress plainer than usual. She pulled a yellow and white silk sundress out of her closet and laid it on her bed. She threw a pair of white pumps on the bed next to the dress and walked to her dresser to get underwear. She took her robe off and put her bra and underwear on. She slipped the sundress over her head and tied the sash around her back.

"My hair is a disaster" she said, looking in the mirror. She brushed her hair out and fastened it in a low messy bun. She straightened her bangs and curled some stray hairs. She looked in the mirror and smiled, she knew that she looked good and hoped that Inuyasha and Miroku would think so as well. She slipped her shoes on and grabbed a white purse and walked into the living room.

As she walked into the living room she saw Sango sitting at the bar drinking a glass of lemonade. She was wearing a light pink sundress, something that was very out of character for Sango. She normally strayed away from pink and dresses as well, Kagome knew that Sango was dressing to impress Miroku and that she would be very successful in her attempt.

"You look nice" Kagome said, pouring herself some lemonade and sitting on the other bar stool next to Sango.

"Thanks. Do you think Miroku will like it?" she asked with her cheeks turning a light red color.

Kagome smiled at her best friend's crush, "Of course he will. There's no way he won't think you look amazing."

"Thanks Kags"

A buzz rang out through the apartment, signaling that Miroku and Inuyasha had arrived to take them to lunch.

They both gathered their purses and put their glasses in the sink before walking to the door of the apartment. Sango opened the door and began to walk down the stairs. Kagome stood in the doorway and took a deep breath. _I hope I'm doing the right thing._ She thought to herself.

Sango was halfway down the stairs when she realized that Kagome wasn't following her, "Ready Kags?" she asked.

Kagome thought a moment and smiled, "Yes" she said, pulling the door closed behind her and rushing down the stairs, "I've never been more ready"

-----

_Authoress' Note: I hope you all like it! A little drama mixing in there! Please review, I would be so happy. I love you all!_


	12. The Double Date

**Disclaimer: don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: I never get sick of how much positive feedback I get for this story. I seriously love you guys…a lot. So I hope you enjoy, I will try to make this a little longish; just cause I love you guys so damn much._

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Twelve_

Kagome and Sango stepped out of the apartment door to see Miroku and Inuyasha standing outside on the curb. Miroku was wearing dark jeans and a short sleeved white button down shirt. He walked over to Sango immediately.

"You look beautiful" he said, causing her to blush a shade that matched her dress.

Kagome looked at Sango and Miroku and smiled and then she directed her attention to Inuyasha. He looked amazing in a pair of white linen pants and a light blue button down shirt. They stared at each other in an uneasy silence.

"Hi Kags" Inuyasha finally said, looking at her with a smile.

"Hi. You look nice" she said.

"Thanks, you do too."

"So" she said, raising her voice so that Sango and Miroku could hear her as well, "Where are we going?"

"To the café around the corner, it's a short walk" Miroku said, taking Sango's hand, "Let's go" he began to walk, Sango quickening her pace to keep up with him.

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other uneasily and began to follow Sango and Miroku in an awkward silence.

"So…what have you been up to?" Inuyasha asked after some silence.

"Everything. I landed the Versace job, but you already know that. I've just been trying to make time for me between work and stuff like that. But I do have to pay the rent…so it's not all fun and games. What about you? Any movies in the works?"

He shook his head, "No. I'm taking the summer off, my agent is pretty pissed at me but Miroku didn't want to come here alone. So I decided to tag along. I guess it was a good thing I decided to come."

Kagome blushed, "Yeah, I guess so."

"We're here" Miroku announced, holding the café door open for Sango and Kagome. They walked to the hostess table and Miroku gave his name and they were led to their table on the back porch of the café.

They sat around the circular table and made small talk and gave their lunch orders. Kagome tried to figure out why she was there; why she had the sudden change of heart and wanted to see Inuyasha again. She couldn't understand what had changed within her, but in a way she was very glad she did. She could tell that Inuyasha was grateful for her change of heart.

"So…what are you doing this summer Sango?" Miroku asked.

"I'm not sure actually. I have no jobs lined up at this point. But I'm probably going to be walking in some shows; I've done work with Valentino and Elie Saab in the past and they both have upcoming shows. I'm also planning some go-sees to get my name around some more."

"Around more? You've done everything!" Miroku gushed, in awe of everything she had done.

"Doesn't mean she can't do more!" Kagome said with a smile. "Hopefully I'll get to walk the runways with you in fashion week. I've been so envious of you cause of your fashion week shows" she said.

"Of course you'll get a job during fashion week. Versace picked you out of tons of models to do their summer line; you'll get your name out there with one ad. That's what happened with Ayame." Sango said.

"Yeah, but we're probably boring our poor little actor over here" Kagome said, patting Inuyasha on the shoulder, "He's kind of the odd man out being the only one not in fashion."

"It's ok. I don't want to keep you from your conversation" he assured them, "I might not know a lot about fashion but I can certainly appreciate all of the models" he said.

"Typical male" Kagome said.

"Lay off Kags" Sango said with a laugh.

"Are you ready for dessert?" the waiter asked while clearing their lunch plates.

"Uh…I don't think so. Unless…do you have tiramisu?" Sango asked.

"Of course we do signorina; some say it's the best in Milan."

"Well I can't turn that down" she said with a smile, "I'd like a piece of that then please."

"Of course," the waiter said, "And for the rest of you?" he asked Miroku, Inuyasha and Kagome.

"Nothing for me, thanks" Kagome said, putting the dessert menu down on the table.

"Nothing for me either" Inuyasha said, laying his menu atop Kagome's.

"I'll have some chocolate gelato please" Miroku said.

"Wonderful, I'll be back with your dessert and with the bill" the waiter said, taking the dirty dishes and menus away.

"If you guys aren't getting dessert, you can leave money for your food and head back to the apartment if you want. We'll meet you there when we're done" Sango suggested.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, "Well, what do you want to do?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me. If you don't mind we can go back to your place until these dessert fiends are finished."

"All right" she said, taking out her purse to pay her part of the bill, only to have Inuyasha push her hand away.

"I'll get yours Kagome. Don't worry about it." He said, pulling his wallet out and putting money on the table.

"But Inuyasha…" she started.

"Stop it. Now let's get going back to your apartment" he said, standing up and pulling her chair back so she could stand up.

"Thanks" she said, standing up and walking out of the café with Inuyasha.

They walked back to the apartment hand in hand; talking like it was the old days again. Kagome smiled as they talked, "It's almost like we've never been apart" she said.

"I'm glad you think so" he said, "I feel that way too"

They reached Kagome's apartment and Kagome unlocked the bottom door and they walked up the stairs where Kagome unlocked the apartment door. They walked in to find the apartment empty.

"I would have sworn Ayame and Kouga would have been here, but I guess they went out for the day." Kagome mused.

She walked over to the bar and took out two glasses. "Do you want something to drink?" she asked him, mixing herself a cosmopolitan in the shaker.

"Um…sure. I'll have whatever. A martini or something. Whatever you have enough to make."

"Oh trust me; we have more alcohol in here than an actual bar. But I guess that is what you get when you live with two other girls with completely different taste, and Kouga doesn't like anything we like either…so we need to accommodate." She explained, rinsing out the shaker to make Inuyasha's drink.

She mixed the martini and handed it to Inuyasha. "Let's go sit on the balcony." She suggested. She opened the balcony door and turned on the stereo, filling the apartment with The Hush Sound. Inuyasha and Kagome sat together on the Adirondack chairs as they sipped their drinks.

"I'm glad you're here" Kagome said, looking straight out over the city and seeing the slow setting sun.

"I'm glad I'm here too" he said, reaching over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

She turned to look at him as he looked at her. She placed her glass on the table next to her and leaned in towards Inuyasha. He leaned towards her and they were a breath away when the apartment door was thrown open and Miroku and Sango burst in.

"Dammit Miroku" Inuyasha mumbled under his breath.

Inuyasha and Kagome walked from the balcony into the apartment.

"What's up love birds?" Sango asked.

"Nothing. Just having a drink, watching the sunset and talking" Kagome said, "How was dessert?"

"Amazing…" Sango said in a dreamy voice.

"Wow" Miroku said, "Does she always get like this over tiramisu?" he asked Kagome.

"Yeah and you should see how she gets around new shoes" she said with a smile.

"Stop it Kags! You're making me look bad!" Sango said, fake punching Kagome in the arm.

"Well…what now?" Sango asked.

"Well we can watch a movie or something. Make yourselves some drinks" Kagome said, walking over to the DVD rack. "Okay…do we want to laugh, cry or see lots of blood?" she asked, scanning the DVD collection.

"Laugh!"

"Cry!"

"Blood!"

"Well that's no help at all…how about…Pan's Labyrinth?" Kagome asked, pulling the DVD off the rack.

"Sure. We haven't watched it yet and I've been meaning to" Sango said.

"Is that okay with you guys?" Kagome asked Inuyasha and Miroku.

They both shrugged, "Whatever."

"All right." Kagome said, popping the DVD in the DVD player, turning the lights off and settling down on the loveseat with Inuyasha as Miroku and Sango sat on the futon.

Kagome rested her head on Inuyasha's shoulder and he put an arm around her shoulders.

"I've never stopped loving you Kags." He whispered in her ear.

She was silent for a moment and then looked up at him. she leaned up and kissed him lightly. "Me too" she whispered back.

------

_Authoress' Note: ooh! Romance! Please review and tell me what you think! Please!_


	13. The Break

**Disclaimer: don't own it. Still. You would think by now I might have owned it.**

_Authoress' Note: I'm really glad everyone else appreciated the fluff of last chapter. Sorry to say though but it may not last, but we'll see. Just keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep writing! I love you all!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Thirteen_

"Kagome?" Inuyasha nudged the girl sleeping on his shoulder. "Kagome, the movie is over. I need to go home now."

"Yeah, yeah I'm awake" she mumbled softly.

Inuyasha maneuvered himself out from under Kagome and lowered her so she was lying on the couch, still asleep. He looked at Sango, who was saying goodbye to Miroku, "I don't want to wake her. Just tell her I said goodbye."

Sango nodded, "Okay, it was nice to see you. Thanks for coming over."

"Thanks for having me. Let's go Miroku; I'm sure Sango has to be in work tomorrow as early as you do." He said; dragging Miroku away from Sango since they first left to start the date.

Sango walked to the door with them and stood in the doorway until they reached the bottom of the stairs and were out the bottom door and out of sight. She smiled to herself and turned back into the apartment, closing the door and locking it for the night.

_I wonder where Ayame and Kouga are tonight._ She thought to herself and then considered unlocking the door for them but then decided against it. "She has a key" she said to herself and walked into the living room where Kagome was sleeping soundly on the couch. "I'll let her sleep there" she said, taking Kagome's cell phone off of the coffee table and set the alarm for eight thirty and placed it back next to her.

_Just in case. _She thought to herself. She turned the television off and the living room light. She stacked the dishwasher with the glasses from the night and then turned the kitchen light off. She went back to the living room and scrawled a note to Ayame telling her to not wake Kagome up and with that, she went into her room for the night.

---------

"Kouga, can we please go home? I'm tired." Ayame whined.

"Ayame, please. This is a very important party; I just need to stay a little longer. I'm sorry."

Ayame looked at him with big puppy dog eyes, "Kouga….please?"

Kouga shook his head and walked away from her and began mingling with the attendees of the party.

_He's impossible. I know that this is important….but we've been here all night. I should probably be interested here...this whole party is full of potential clients. But the interest ship sailed out when the tired ship sailed in. _she thought to herself as she sat down at the table they had eaten dinner at. She fiddled with the contents of her purse but became bored quickly. She saw Kouga out of the corner of her eye and motioned for him to come see her.

He walked over and sat down next to her.

"Kouga, I will do anything if we can just leave now"

"Will you marry me?" he asked.

Ayame looked at him in disbelief, "Kouga I can't believe you! You know how I felt about that whole thing. If you're just going to joke around about getting married now maybe I don't want to marry you after all." She stood up, grabbing her purse and coat and stormed away from him.

Kouga mentally kicked himself, _IDIOT! _ His brain screamed. He grabbed his coat and ran after her, not caring anymore about the party. He got out the entrance to the hotel and saw Ayame climbing into a taxi. The taxi drove away before Kouga could reach her. He hailed himself a taxi and gave the driver Ayame's address. As the cab drove away Kouga sat in the back seat and thought of all the possible things to tell her to make it right. But the only answer he could come up with was nothing. He realized that there wasn't anything he could say to calm her down; he would let her yell at him and then she would calm down and everything would be fine.

His cab pulled up right behind Ayame's and he saw her standing at the door, trying to unlock it. He quickly paid the driver and jumped out of the cab and ran over to her. "Ayame!" he called as she opened the door and stepped over the threshold. She turned and looked at him, he saw in her eyes a hurt that he'd never seen.

"Listen Ayame, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I was joking, please forgive me." He rushed out, in case she was planning on closing the door on him.

She looked at him and shook her slowly, "I know that it probably doesn't mean anything to you Kouga; but getting married is what I want most in life. I have so much stake placed in marriage and it's not something that I want to joke about. Do you understand? I just can't talk about marriage and not take it seriously. It's important to me."

"I understand Ayame, I do. I'm sorry. It means a lot to me too, I promise you." He pleaded.

"I believe you Kouga, or at least I really want to believe you. But I think it's best if we don't talk about marriage for a while. Okay?" she asked.

"Yes, of course."

"And I think maybe we should take a little time off" she said softly.

"Time off? Okay, we can go on vacation or something. I'll be able to get like a week off" he said, not understanding what she meant.

"No, I mean time off from each other"

"You don't want to be with me anymore?"

"No, no Kouga I want to be with you more than anything, I just think we both need some time to concentrate on work, just to take a breather. We're not over Kouga, far from it. We just need…time."

Kouga stared into Ayame's eyes, he knew that she was completely serious, but he was still searching her eyes just incase there was a hint of joking in them. He was disappointed. He looked at her and shook his head, "Whatever you want Ayame. Just let me know when you want to see me again. I love you." he kissed her on the cheek and walked away from the apartment door. He heard the door close and lock as Ayame went into the apartment.

He walked down the road for a while before finally hailing a cab to take him home. He sat in the cab in a daze and the driver needed to tell him when they arrived at his apartment. He paid the man and got out of the cab. Walking to his door he fumbled for the keys in his pocket. He stuck a key in the lock, but it would turn. He pulled the key out to find that he was trying to unlock his apartment with his key to Ayame's apartment. He sighed and found his key and opened the door. He threw his keys and wallet on the table by the door and closed the door behind him. It had been a while since he had spent a night in his own apartment and his bedroom seemed foreign to him. He looked at his bed and saw that it was still unmade from the time Ayame had come over and done laundry with him. not wanting to deal with his bed, he took his pillow and blanket and brought them out to the living room and putting them on the couch. He went back to his room and changed out of his party attire and into pajama pants and a wife beater.

He turned the lights off in his room and walked into the living room where he would spend the night. He flipped the television on and lay on the couch, trying to get comfortable for the night alone. After three hours of infomercials and stupid cartoons, Kouga fell asleep; hoping that the whole night had just been a bad dream.

-----

Ayame walked slowly up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door at the top and slowly opened the door. She saw the lights off and knew that Sango and Kagome must be sleeping. She walked into the kitchen and saw a note on the counter.

_Ayame, _

_Hey babe, hope you had a good night tonight. Kagome fell asleep on the couch during the movie and we (Inuyasha, Miroku and i) just decided to let her sleep there for the night. so please don't wake her up, I've already set her cell alarm so she won't be late for work tomorrow. Good night!_

_-Sango_

Ayame looked into the living room to see Kagome still sleeping on the couch. She smiled at her ability to sleep through everything. She got herself a bottle of water from the fridge, locked the door and went into her room to sleep the stress of the night away.

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_Authoress' Note: I know, I know. The chapter was really short and it's been like ten thousand years to update. I'm sorry! Really sorry! Just please review and I'll update again ASAP!_


	14. The Shoot and The Surprise

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Still.**

_Authoress' Note: since I feel guilty about not updating in such a long time and since I got so many quick reviews for the last chapter, I decided to try and get this chapter out. So this is for all you guys! I love you!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Fourteen_

"Brrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiing! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiing!" Kagome's cell phone rang. She picked her head off the couch and looked around in a daze. After finding the cause of the noise, she silenced her phone and attempted to go back to sleep. Being unable to go back to sleep; she got off of the couch and walked into her room. She checked her planner to see what she had planned for the day. Seeing that she had her Versace shoot soon she hurried to get ready. She walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on before walking back into her room to choose her clothes for the day. Taking out new underwear, she chose a pair of plain jeans and a purple tank top. She took the clothes into the bathroom with her and she took her clothes off and climbed into the shower.

She showered faster than usual and dried off and got dressed. She blow dried her hair quickly and got dressed. She threw her dirty clothes in the hamper with her towels and walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to get something for breakfast. Pulling the bread out of the bread box she put two slices into the toaster and took the butter and orange juice out of the fridge.

"First time in a while I've been able to eat breakfast, even though I have to eat it quickly. I guess I finally was able to get a good night sleep." She said to herself, taking the toast out of the toaster and buttering it. She thought about her night and smiled, despite being wary about talking to Inuyasha again; she was ecstatic that they still had the chemistry they had in high school.

She ate her toast and downed the glass of orange juice. She gathered her things together, grabbed her keys off of the table by the door and left the apartment.

---------

Inuyasha was woken up by Miroku leaving the apartment. He rolled out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen to get something to wake him up. He started the coffee maker and went to sit down in the living room while his coffee brewed. He looked over to the futon to see Sesshoumaru sleeping on it.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don't you have a place to live?" he asked loudly, waking him up. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, wake the hell up"

"Inuyasha, shut up. Rin had to go into work early this morning; otherwise I would have slept at her apartment last night. Don't worry, I'm leaving soon."

Inuyasha scoffed, "You bet you are."

"Don't be such a child Inuyasha, be hospitable."

"I am hospitable, to anyone but you. I have no reason to be hospitable to you. Get a cup of coffee and leave." He said, going back into the kitchen to pour himself some coffee.

Sesshoumaru followed him into the kitchen and got a cup of coffee.

"So…what's up with you and Rin?" Inuyasha asked, trying for once to make polite conversation with his brother.

Sesshoumaru shrugged, "She's it I think." He said simply, "I told her I didn't want to see anyone else."

"Hold up! Who are you and what have you done with my brother the playboy?" Inuyasha asked, half-jokingly.

He shrugged again, "I don't know. There's something about her. I don't need any other girl. She's got everything."

"Ooooh! Sesshoumaru is in love!" Inuyasha said, mocking his brother.

"Shut up. I'm going home now." He said, placing his empty mug on the counter. "I'll see you around Inuyasha."

"Yeah, you probably will. Bye." He said.

Sesshoumaru walked back into the living room and then Inuyasha heard the door of the apartment close. Inuyasha put his mug in the sink, along with Sesshoumaru's and then went into his room. He picked his phone up off the bedside table and flipped it open. He opened up a blank text message and quickly typed something and sent it to Kagome. Smiling, he put his phone down and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

_For the first time in five years, _he thought, _things are really looking up._

------

Kagome arrived at Versace studios right on time. She walked through the front doors and went to the main desk in the lobby.

"Hello. I'm Kagome Higurashi. I'm here for a shoot, can you tell me where I need to go?" she asked politely.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on a second honey" the receptionist said rudely.

"Oh, yes of course." Kagome said, not knowing how else to address the woman. She stood in front of the desk, listening to the receptionist gab on the phone while she waited to go to work.

After five minutes, Kagome was determined for this girl to not make her any later. She knocked on the desk in front of the girl, getting her attention. She put her hand over the receiver of the headset of the phone and glared daggers at Kagome.

"I asked you to wait" she snapped.

"Yes I know you did. I don't think you understand. I am the model for Donatella's summer line and my shoot started three minutes ago. And if you do not direct me where to go I will be forced to go straight to Donatella and have you fired." Kagome said calmly; she was not used to acting like a diva but sometimes she found it necessary for anyone to listen to her. She looked at the receptionist and gave a small smirk. The girl immediately hung up her other call and began frantically typing on her computer.

"You are in studio one. Right down this hall, I apologize for the wait" she stammered out.

"I bet you do" Kagome said snobbily, walking down the hall she was directed to. _Sometimes it's fun to be a snob,_ she thought with a smile.

She hurried down the hall to the door marked "Studio One". She opened the door and walked in to find Miroku and Rin sitting in director's chairs.

"Where have you been!?" Rin exclaimed, "You need to get to hair and makeup, go! Go! Right over here!" she said, pushing Kagome into a room.

Kagome was pushed into a chair in front of a vanity mirror as people began to do her hair and makeup simultaneously. She looked into the mirror to see the wardrobe person laying out outfits for the shoot. When her hair was done she was given an outfit to change into. She changed quickly and then hurried back into the studio.

"I'm so sorry Miroku, Rin. The receptionist kept me waiting and wouldn't tell me where the shoot was. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again I assure you."

Rin nodded and wrote something in her planner, "Don't worry, I'll be sure it doesn't happen again."

"All right, well, do you want to get started?" Miroku asked, stepping behind the camera.

"Of course" Kagome said with a smile, stepping in front of the camera. Miroku took a few shots and reviewed them on the computer.

'Eh…the lighting's off. Let me fix that" he said, walking over to adjust the reflectors and lights. He walked back around to behind the camera and took a few more shots. He went to the computer and looked them over, "All right, that's perfect. Let's get started." He said with a smile. He took a set of 50 shots before sending Kagome to change again. He reviewed the film as she changed and was very happy with what he had captured.

"Kagome! When you're finished changing come out and look at the film!" he called. Kagome emerged from the dressing room in white pants, a white tank top and a bright fuchsia trench coat. She had fuchsia pumps on and she held a matching umbrella at the crook of her elbow. She leaned over his shoulder as he flipped through the pictures.

"Wow, I love that one!" she said.

Miroku nodded, "That is a good one. I'm going to send a few test shots to Donatella and see what she has to say about them. You certainly know how to take a good picture" he said.

"Thank you. I appreciate the compliment; especially because I live in the shadow of one of the most successful models in Italy and the face of Prada."

"Well, you can certainly hold your own." He continued to review the film, "although I would love to shoot Sango. I bet she's wonderful to work with."

"Miroku's in love" Kagome said jokingly.

"No, not in love. But as close to it as I've ever been. But anyway, let's get you back in front of the camera. After this outfit you can go home for the day."

Kagome nodded and walked back into the light. She opened the umbrella and started singing "Singing in the Rain". Miroku and Kagome both began to laugh but began taking the shoot more seriously when Kagome stopped singing.

"You know, it's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors" Miroku said.

"I like to make my own luck in life. It's worked for me so far" she said with a smile.

"Yes, I suppose it has. And I think we're done here. Let's just look over the film to be sure." They both walked over to the computer and began looking through the film; to both of their delight, the pictures were perfect.

"I'm going to go get changed, will you wait for me?" she asked Miroku as he began packing up the photography equipment.

"Yeah, sure."

Kagome went back into the changing room and emerged a few minutes later to find that Miroku was also ready to leave.

"Hey Miroku?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Inuyasha home tonight?"

"Yeah, he should be. He doesn't know the area or the people so I don't think that he would have anywhere to go."

"Do you think I could go home with you? I'd like to surprise him."

"Yeah, that would be fine. But I think that if you want to really surprise him, you should change. Let's go find something." He said, walking back into the dressing room.

"Miroku!" she whispered, "We can't take these clothes! They're not ours!"

"Don't worry Kagome. You were going to be given these clothes after the shoot anyway."

Kagome's face lit up, "Really?!"

"Yes. Now let's find you something to wear."

"Miroku?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I owe you one."

"No you don't. Don't worry about it. Now go put this on" he said, handing her a red strapless mini dress.

Kagome went into the bathroom and changed. She came back out and slipped a pair of white pumps on and Miroku handed her a white trench coat.

"Miroku, I think you should go ask Sango to dinner tonight."

"Really? You think she would want to?"

"Miroku, trust me. I live with the girl and I've seen her with other guys, she's never acted the way she does with you when she was with any of them. I think she would be ecstatic if you showed up at her door asking her to go to dinner."

"All right. Well, I'll bring you home and get changed and then go ask her out for dinner."

"All right, let's go" she said, linking her arm in his and walking out of the studio with him. They walked the fifteen minute walk back to Miroku and Inuyasha's apartment together, talking as if they had been friends forever. They arrived at the apartment and Miroku stuck his key in the lock and unlocked the door.

"Wait out here until I go in. then come in."

Kagome nodded and moved to the side of the door so that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to see her when the door opened.

Miroku walked in and she could hear him talking to Inuyasha.

"Hey Yash."

"Yeah, hi."

"How was your day?"

"Feh. There's nothing to do in this God-forsaken place. No one speaks English and I can't speak or read Italian. So I'm stuck here until you get home. Nothing could make this day any better."

Kagome pushed the door open and walked into the apartment, "Nothing? Then maybe I should go home."

Inuyasha jumped off of the couch and pretty much ran over to meet Kagome. "No! No! You don't need to leave."

Kagome giggled and gave him a kiss.

"You look…I mean you look…wow."

"Thanks. I'm here to take you out to dinner. Interested?"

Inuyasha looked at her smiling face and knew that at that moment he was the luckiest man alive. He had not only found his high school sweetheart after five years, but she was giving him a second chance. He would give up anything as long as she would stay with him. he smiled at her and kissed her, "Very interested."

------

_Authoress' Note: Well, I liked this chapter. I hope you all do too! I tried to make it longer for your enjoyment! So please review! It will make me very happy!_


	15. The Declaration

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. So don't ask.**

_Authoress' Note: I'm inspired to write a lot in this fic lately. Right now I'm watching Thumbelina and it's a good time. So yeah. Enjoy. And that's it…well…review too. That'd be awesome._

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Fifteen_

**-A little earlier that morning-**

Sango emerged from her bedroom no earlier than three that afternoon; it was her first day off in a while and she was going to take full advantage of it. She walked straight from her room to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. She showered and toweled herself off, putting on a pair of jeans and a black Armani t-shirt. She toweled her hair off and put her hair up into a ponytail. She threw her towels on to the towel rack to dry and turned the fan on in the bathroom to get rid of the steam. She walked out of the bathroom and made her way to the kitchen to get something to eat.

As she passed Ayame's door she saw a note written on her white board.

_Sango and Kags,_

_Whatever you do, please don't ask me about Kouga._

_-Ayame._

"I wonder what happened" she asked herself softly. She looked at the note again, Ayame had already written it when she was upset; the handwriting was shaky and messy – very unlike Ayame.

Sango walked into the kitchen and took out enough food to make herself a decent lunch. She made herself a salad and sat down on the couch and turned the TV on to watch while she ate. She took her glasses from the coffee table and put them on. "That's better" she said with a smile, "TV is always more enjoyable when you can see it."

She finished her salad and brought it back into the kitchen to do the dishes. She looked at Ayame's door and then at the clock. She hadn't left her room yet, Sango knew that much. But there's where what Sango knew ended. She wanted to go and knock on her door and find out what was happening but there was obviously a reason why Ayame had left the note. _She must want to be alone._ Sango thought, _something must have happened between her and Kouga._

She the buzz of someone down at the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to the door and pressed the button to unlock the door and she heard the steps of someone coming up the steps. There was a knock on the door after Sango counted fifteen steps. She opened the door to reveal Miroku, standing at her doorstep holding a lily.

"Miroku! What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see him. "I mean, come in." she opened the door all the way and Miroku stepped into the living room, handing Sango the flower he had brought her.

"Thank you" she said, blushing. "I'll go put this in water" she walked into the kitchen and took a vase out of the cabinet, filling it with water and sticking the lily into it. "Sorry you have to see me like this; it's my day off so I'm a scrub."

Miroku smiled and shook his head, "You look wonderful, as always. I came by to ask if you would like to go to dinner with me."

"Really?"

"No, I'm lying. Of course really. Come on, let's go."

"Um…all right. Let me go get changed. I'll be ready in like ten minutes." She scurried from the kitchen to her bedroom. She looked at her mess of a room and regretted being so messy. She dove into the nearest pile of clothes to find something to wear. She pulled out a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and changed into them. She put on a pair of white pumps and began looking around for a shirt to wear. She put on a long white tank top and a fuchsia (_A/n: just a note, fuchsia is the hardest word to spell.)_ cropped blazer. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and brushed it out. She put her contacts in and looked at herself in the mirror, "It needs something" she said to herself and began looking through her accessories. She found a thin white headband with a bow on the side of it and smiled, "This is perfect" she put the headband on and grabbed her purse and walked out of her room.

"I'm ready" she said as she walked back to the living room where Miroku was waiting for her.

"Wow. You clean up well" he said with a smile.

"Thanks, I do try."

"Well, off we go" Miroku said, holding out his hand to her.

"One minute, I just want to leave a note for Ayame. She hasn't left her room yet today and I'm kind of worried about her." She took a piece of paper from the memo pad on the counter and wrote a quick note for her. She set it on the counter in plain view and turned back to Miroku, taking his hand.

"So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

-------

Ayame sat up in bed and was unable to see. She rubbed her eyes trying to force them open, but the tears from the previous night had swollen her eyes shut. She fell back into her pillows in exasperation. She knew that it was late, but she also knew that she had not missed anything important; seeing as she called and cancelled her only appointment for the day the night before. She took a few deep breaths before trying to force her eyes open again. This time she managed to get them a fraction open, which was good enough for her. She grabbed her robe off of the floor next to her bed and got out of bed and tied the robe tight around her. She stumbled around her room until she made it out of her room.

She walked into the kitchen and began to make a cup of instant coffee. She poured it into a mug and took a sip; it was gross, but she needed it to wake up. She quickly downed the rest of the cup and was finally able to open her eyes. She looked around the empty apartment, relieved to find herself alone.

As she walked into the living room she saw a piece of paper sitting on the corner of the counter.

_Ayame,_

_Hey. I'm going out to dinner with Miroku and Kagome is somewhere with Inuyasha. I'm worried about you; you never spend a day in your room no matter what. If you need me for anything, just give me a call. I'll be home later. I love you babe!_

_-Sango_

Ayame smiled; _At least someone cares about how I feel._ She thought to herself, even though she knew that Kouga did care, it was just easier for her to make him the bad guy at that point in time. She walked into the living room and turned the TV on. She sat down on the couch and flipped through the channels until she found something worth watching. She stopped her channel surfing on E! and was happy that "Office Space" was on. The movie always seemed to cheer her up and was just what she needed.

"That poor guy…all he wants is his stapler" she said to herself with a smile.

------

"Inuyasha, how did you get reservations here? This is the most popular restaurant in Milan!" Kagome asked as they were shown to their seats.

"I have my ways" he said with a smile. Even though Kagome had invited him to dinner at the last minute, he was still able to land a table at the busiest restaurant in the city. "I guess you can say that the Italians love their Japanese actors."

"I guess they do" she said with a laugh as she looked over her menu. "Yash?"

"Yeah?"

"If someone told us five years ago when we said good bye that we would be having dinner together in five years in Italy would you have believed them?"

"I would think they were nuts. I never thought I'd see you again Kags."

"Yeah, same here. But I'm glad that everything worked out the way it did."

"I am too. But there's just one thing"

"What?"

"I'm only here for the summer Kags. What's going to happen when I go back to Tokyo again?"

The waiter came over, interrupting their conversation. He took their orders and their menus and left them alone again.

"Kags?" he asked after she didn't answer him.

"What? Sorry, I spaced out there for a second."

"What are we going to do after the summer is over?"

Kagome thought for a moment, but she was unable to think of an answer. After another moment she shrugged, "I don't know Yash. Can't we just deal with that when we come to it? Let's not ruin the moment."

"Right. Sorry I brought it up."

"Don't be. It's important. But this night is too beautiful already to spoil it with sad thoughts."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome from across the table, he had seen pictures from her modeling career and he had seen here all dressed up for prom but there was something about the way she looked in that moment that made him realize how much he loved her. She had aged more gracefully than he'd ever seen anyone do, she was more than beautiful. But Inuyasha couldn't think of a word that would do her justice. So he just said nothing.

"What are you thinking? You look like you're concentrating so hard" she said with a giggle.

"I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"Everything. You, me, us. I don't want to leave you Kagome. I did once but it's not happening again. Nothing in this world means more to me. I love you."

"Yash, I love you too. But I'm not letting you give up acting for me. It's been your dream for as long as I can remember, I'm not worth throwing your dream away."

_You're my dream now Kagome_. he thought, too afraid to say it out loud.

-------

"Miroku! Where are we going?!" Sango asked as Miroku dragged her out of the taxi. She had no idea where they were, or where they were going. Miroku had refused to tell her anything. All she knew was that they were now on the outskirts of the city in a more rural area and he was pulling her towards a field.

"Miroku! Not to be a priss, but my shoes are white! Why are we walking through a field?"

He turned back and smiled at her. He looked down at her shoes and laughed. "Are they getting dirty?" he asked with genuine interest.

"A little. It's not really a big deal I guess, I have another pair at home that are just like them."

As soon as she finished that sentence, Miroku picked her up bridal style and began to carry her across the field.

"What are you doing? Why can't you just tell me where we're eating?" she asked, not giving up.

"We're eating right over there" he said, putting her down and pointing a ways into the distance.

Sango gasped as she saw what he was pointing at; a hot air balloon. "We're eating in a hot air balloon? Miroku that's amazing!" she exclaimed.

They walked the remainder of the field up to the balloon. It was larger than the average balloon and held a very large basket at the bottom. The man running the balloon placed a step on the ground at the base of the basket and Miroku climbed in first, helping Sango in after him. She looked at the basket, there was a simple set up of a table and two chairs.

"Do you like it?" he asked her.

She turned around and nearly tackled him, kissing him. "It's perfect! Everything is perfect. Why would you go through so much trouble for this?"

"Because" he said, taking a deep breath, "I love you."

-------

_Authoress' Note: oh man! Another chapter! I'm on a roll! And this one is kinda long. But yeah. Please review!_


	16. The Night

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: Yay! Another chapter! Go me! Please keep reviewing! And it would be amazing if you guys would subscribe to my new C2. I would love that. Okay, enough plugging and more writing. _

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Sixteen_

Sango stared at Miroku in disbelief. "I'm sorry…what?"

"I love you Sango Takai. Since I first met you I knew that you were different than anyone I had ever met; I knew that you would be the one I would fall in love with." He looked at her with worried eyes, anxiously awaiting her response.

"Miroku, we've only been on two dates. And only know each other for a week."

_Damn! I made a huge mistake! I'm such an idiot!_

"And I never thought that it was possible to fall in love with someone that quickly. Actually, I didn't allow myself to even think that it was possible."

_Damn! Damn! Damn!_

"But since meeting you…I guess that I had never been more wrong in my life."

"I don't understand; what are you trying to tell me?"

Sango leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled away and looked at him, smiling. "I'm trying to tell you that I love you too."

-----

"Rin Hakashi" Rin said as she answered her cell phone.

"Hi, it's Sesshoumaru."

Rin's eyes lit up. She hadn't talked to Sesshoumaru since the night of the party and he decided to be exclusive with her. "Hi. What's up?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

"No, tonight is my night off. Why? Do you want to do something?"

"That would be good. Do you want to do anything in particular?"

"Well, I don't get a night off often so I was planning on staying in tonight. So do you want to come over to my place? I can make us dinner and we can watch a movie or something. Does that sound all right?"

"Sure. I'm leaving the office now so I can be at your place in about twenty minutes. Does that sound all right?"

"Yeah that's fine. I'll see you then. Bye" she snapped the phone closed and put it on the counter. She looked around her apartment and realized at once that it was in no shape to have guest's in. "Oh crap." She said and began to hurry around the apartment, throwing all the clothes in the laundry nook, all of the garbage in the garbage can and straightening up her portfolio's and business papers on the kitchen table. She looked around and decided that her kitchen and living room area was now presentable. She then hurried into her bedroom, there was a chance that Sesshoumaru would be staying the night and she didn't want him thinking that she lived in her own filth.

Seeing that her room wasn't as bad as she thought, she managed to get everything into her closet and left it at that. She walked back into the kitchen and put a pot of water on the stove. She took out some meatball mix she had purchased earlier that week and began making meatballs and placing them on a cookie sheet. She heard the doorbell ring and wiped her hands on a mopine before walking to the door.

She opened the door and let Sesshoumaru in. "I'm making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner; I hope that's all right."

Sesshoumaru put his coat down on the couch and followed Rin into the kitchen, "That's fine Rin."

"Well good cause it's the only thing I know how to make" she said with a smile. "Do you want something to drink while dinner is cooking?" she asked, adding spaghetti to her pot of now boiling water.

"Do you have any wine?"

"Yes. Do you want red or white?"

"Red please"

"Good choice. I prefer red to white as well. I tend to entertain a lot so I need to have both just in case. But for future reference, the white wine I buy isn't nearly as expensive as my red." She said with a wink.

"Sneaky" he said, taking the glass of wine from her and walking into the living room.

Rin put the tray of meatballs into the oven, turned on the timer and washed her hands before joining Sesshoumaru in the living room. "Dinner will be ready in a little more than a half hour. Do you want to start a movie in the meantime?"

Sesshoumaru shrugged, "That's fine. I don't care what we watch, you can decide."

"All righty then." She walked over to her DVD collection and began to skim through her movies, "I want to watch…Memoirs of a Geisha." She took the DVD off the rack and placed her wine on top of the TV while she put the DVD into the DVD player. She picked her wine up again and turned the lights off before moving to the couch to sit next to Sesshoumaru.

The movie went unwatched and the buzzing timer was ignored as the new couple made love for the first time.

_(A/n: I know that that was a total cop-out on writing a lemon. But I really don't want to put one in here. So I just tried to make it a little poetic and whatnot. Don't be too mad at me please!)_

-------

When Inuyasha and Kagome walked into Kagome's apartment, they found Ayame lying on the couch in her robe eating popcorn. She looked at them as they stumbled into the apartment, both of them being a little less than sober.

"Hey guys. How was your night?" she asked while still watching her movie.

"Great! We went to Resturante Cinque _(A/n: yes, for all of you who speak Italian, that is Italian for restaurant five. I thought it seemed sort of mod. Leave me alone.)_ For dinner and we got some gelato on the walk home. Now we're just going to turn in for the night. I'll talk to you tomorrow Ayame…it's Saturday so we should have a girls day with you me and Sango."

"Okay Kagome. Good night, both of you."

"Night" they said in unison and walked slowly towards the bedrooms.

Kagome went into the kitchen and got two glasses of water and walked with Inuyasha into her bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Ayame sat on the couch, popping popcorn mindlessly into her mouth as she faded in and out of consciousness as she watched a lifetime movie.

"I really don't think I should have told Kouga that." She said, realizing a mistake, "I need him. But after what I said…I guess I should just leave it be for a few days." She turned off the television and walked into the kitchen, throwing the remainder of her popcorn away. She got herself a glass of water and took some Tylenol PM before walking into her bedroom for the night. As she walked past Kagome's room she overheard Kagome and Inuyasha's last words of the night.

"I love you Kags. Forever. And I'm never leaving you again."

"I love you too Yash. I'm not letting you leave me."

_I want that back. I was a fool. Tomorrow night I need to see him. I got caught up in such foolishness and overreacted. I just need to get a good night's sleep before I do anything._ She thought as she walked into her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and didn't even bother turning the light on as she fell onto her bed and climbed under the covers for another night of dreamless sleep.

--------

The hot air balloon touched back down in the same field it had taken off from. A step was lowered and Miroku climbed out first, helping Sango out behind him. They thanked the "pilot" and walked across the field once more and climbed into the waiting car.

"Did you have a nice night?" Miroku asked hopefully as they rode home.

"Yes. It was…well…perfect. More than anything I could have ever wanted. Thank you."

"Anytime. I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself. And hopefully you will want to go out to dinner again tomorrow night?"

"I would love to. But how about this time, you come over to my place and I'll cook for you."

Miroku smiled, "perfect."

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_Authoress' Note: I hope you liked! Please review!_


	17. The Job and The News

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**  
_Authoress' Note: I've been holding out on you guys and I apologize. So I hope that you enjoy this chapter! Please review!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Seventeen_

Ayame woke up to her phone ringing. She rolled over and cleared her throat before picking her phone off of the bedside table. "Ayame Connelly" she answered cheerily.

"Yes, Miss Connelly? My name is Guila Cartelli and I'm calling on behalf of Valentino. After your go-see with us, we are very interested in having you model for us; would you be able to be at our studio in about an hour?"

Ayame's eyes lit up, this was the break she had been waiting for; something to get her out of the funk she was stuck in. "Yes, of course I would be able to."

"Excellent. We'll see you in an hour Miss Connelly. Good bye"

Ayame closed her phone and ran out of her room and into the bathroom across the hall. After starting the shower she ran back into her room, grabbing the closest suit and shirt she could find and carried them back across the hall, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

The noise drew a half asleep Sango out of her bedroom. She stumbled to the bathroom and knocked on the door. The door cracked open and Ayame poked her head out. "Yes?" she asked.

"Is there a reason why you're slamming the doors at seven in the morning?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice through gritted teeth.

"I'm going to model from Valentino!" she exclaimed.

"Well then it's totally allowed then!!!" Sango shouted. "Go shower! Get ready!"

"I will, and you go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you up."

"All right. Good luck" Sango said with a smile, kissing Ayame's cheek and walking back into her room. After Sango heard the bathroom door close, she snuck from her bedroom into the kitchen, sticking some cinnamon buns into the oven for Ayame to grab before she went to her meeting. She set the kitchen timer and wrote a note for Ayame, telling her that breakfast was waiting for her.

She stopped in front of Kagome's door and tapped slightly on it. She heard rustling and groaning as Kagome and Inuyasha, she assumed; not knowing he had stayed over, woke up.

"Kags?"

Kagome grumbled and then Sango heard her climb out of bed and pad her way to the door.

"Yeah?" she asked lazily, opening the door.

"Ayame is going to model for Valentino!"

"That's great Sango. But I didn't get to sleep until about four hours ago. But tell Ayame that I'm psyched for her."

Sango smiled at Kagome, "I'm sure that it's you're fault that you were up late Kags. But I'll tell her. You go back to your man. I'll see you later."

"Thanks" Kagome said with a smile and then went back into her room, closing the door softly so she wouldn't wake Inuyasha up.

Sango turned on her heel and walked back into her room. She climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up over her head and tried to fall back asleep. After twenty minutes she realized that she was up for good and sat up in bed. She thought for a minute and then took her cell phone off of the bedside table and scrolled through the contacts until she reached the "K" section and dialed Kouga's number.

After a few rings a groggy Kouga answered the phone.

"Mmmrmph…hello?" he asked; obviously unhappy to be woken up so early.

"Kouga? I'm sorry to be calling so early but I got some news that I thought you should hear."

"What? Is Ayame all right Sango?" he asked, now instantly awake with worry.

"Everything is all right Kouga. Ayame is fine, don't worry. It's good news. Really, really good news."

"Just spit it out Sango! You're killing me here!"

"Ayame got a job for Valentino! She has her first photo shoot for them this morning."

"Are you serious? She's been trying to get a job at Valentino for years now. This is amazing!"

"I'm glad you're as excited as we are. But I thought that it would be a good idea to let you know. Because obviously congratulations are in order and I bet she would really appreciate a call from you."

"Sango, she's the one who didn't want to be around me. What would make you think that she wants to hear from me?"

"Kouga, I've been watching her. She's miserable without you and all she wants to do is be with you. Call her, trust me. Or you could just go back to bed; it's your choice. I guess I just wanted to level the playing field by letting you know you had a choice. Good bye Kouga.

She hung up before Kouga had the chance to say anything else and replaced her phone on the bedside table and lay back against the mountain of pillows and took a deep breath. "Men…and they say that _we're _difficult to understand." She complained to no one.

---------

Ayame got out of the shower, dressed and straightened her hair. She walked into the kitchen, knowing she wasn't going to have enough time to eat breakfast. She noticed the note Sango had left her and she opened the oven to see the breakfast that Sango had prepared for her. "I love that girl" she said with a smile. She took a cinnamon bun from the pan and quickly ate it and left for work, grabbing her portfolio on her way out.

She got down the stairs and turned to lock the apartment behind her when she heard her phone ringing. She reached into her portfolio and pulled her phone out. She flipped it open without looking at the caller ID first.

"Ayame Connelly." She answered promptly, expecting a business call.

"Hey, congratulations on the big job" Kouga's familiar voice greeted her.

"Kouga"

"I know that you probably don't want to hear from me right now. But Sango gave me the good news and I wanted to congratulate you firsthand. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, that means a lot Kouga." she told him as she walked down the street, hailing the first cab that passed by her.

She got into the cab and gave the driver the address and then returned to her phone call. "Hey, Kouga?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me tonight? I want to celebrate and I know that Kags and Sango both have plans with their guys. I don't want to be a fifth wheel."

"I would love to go out to dinner with you. Is Resturante Cinque all right for you?"

"Yes but, are you going to be able to get reservations there?"

"Of course, the owner owes me one. Don't worry about it. You just go to your shoot and then get dressed up and I'll pick you up at six. How does that sound?"

Ayame smiled, she was happy that Kouga wanted to see her after the things that she had told him. "That sounds perfect. I'll see you then."

"All right. I love you Ayame."

Ayame blushed, even though she had no idea why. "I love you too."

She hung up the phone just as the cab pulled in front of the building. Ayame paid the driver and stepped out of the cab and onto the pavement, leading into the building that would help make her dreams come true.

-----

Sesshoumaru picked up his phone and dialed Rin's number for the sixth time that day. He looked at his clock as the phone rang, the numbers read out "3:35" and Sesshoumaru knew that Rin was done with work. Her voice mail picked up and he hung his phone up angrily. He hadn't seen or heard from Rin in the past two weeks and he was beginning to worry about her. He knew that she was all right because Miroku saw her frequently at work; but he was worried that he had done something to upset her.

He pressed the redial and called her again. Her voicemail picked up once again and Sesshoumaru sighed. "Hey Rin, it's Sesshoumaru. I haven't heard from you and I'm starting to get worried. I'm going to stop by your apartment and see if you're there. Hopefully I'll see you soon. Bye"

He grabbed his keys off of the table and walked out of his apartment and out to the street where his car was waiting for him. He got in and drove the quick mile and a half to Rin's apartment.

He parked his car in front of her building and climbed out. He walked to her front door and rang the doorbell. He heard her walking towards the door and smiled knowing that she was home. She opened the door with a smile and it quickly turned to a look of shock when she saw that Sesshoumaru was standing there.

"Sesshoumaru…what are you doing here?" she asked, not inviting him in.

"I was worried about you Rin. It feels like you've been avoiding me."

"Well…" she started, avoiding his gaze.

"Were you avoiding me Rin? What did I do?"

"No, it's nothing you did. It was me. It's just…"

"Just what? You can tell me Rin, nothing is going to make me angry with you. I just want to know what is going on because what affects you affects me as well."

"Sesshoumaru…" she took a deep breath. _Now or never. _She thought and then took another breath, looking him in the eye. "I'm pregnant."

-------

_Authoress' note: it's taken forever for an update, I know. And I'm sorry, but I've been so busy and now I'm moving back into school so I'm spread a little thin now. But I hope this is good enough for all of you for right now. Please review!_


	18. The Plans

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. **

_Authoress' Note: I know that it's been taking forever to get updates and whatnot but its still the beginning of a new school year and I'm already completely overwhelmed. It's a lot of work…this whole getting a degree thing. But enough of my excuses. I just hope that you all tolerate the wait between chapters. And now, on with it._

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Eighteen_

"I'm sorry…what?" Sesshoumaru asked, not being able to comprehend what Rin had just told him.

"I'm pregnant Sesshoumaru. I didn't know how to tell you." She whispered, looking at the ground. A tear fell from her eyes and she placed a hand tentatively on her stomach.

"Can I come in?" he asked, "Is that okay?"

She nodded and moved aside, letting him into the living room. He sat on the couch and she closed the door and sat in an armchair across from him. they sat in silence, Rin looking at her shoes and Sesshoumaru looking at her,

"Well what are you going to do?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…are you keeping it?"

Rin sat silent and motionless for a minute, before slowly shaking her head, "Yes" she whispered, "I am"

"Very well then" Sesshoumaru said and reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small notebook and pen. "There's a lot of things we need to take care of now." He moved off of the couch and moved over so he was kneeling on the ground next to Rin's chair. "A nursery needs to be made" she murmured to himself, writing a list in his notebook, "We need to find the best doctor in Milan, and most of all; we need to keep this away from the press. So I think it would be best if we kept this under wraps, at least until you begin to show. Does that sound all right?"

Rin looked at Sesshoumaru and blinked a couple of times. "What?"

Sesshoumaru looked up from his list, "What do you mean what?"

"You're…staying with me?"

"Well, obviously. Rin, I'm ashamed you would think so little of me. I got you into this mess Rin. And I'm going to be here to help you as long as you want me to be here."

"Thank you so much." She whispered, climbing out of the chair and hugging him. he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

"Sesshoumaru, will you move in with me?" she asked.

"Are you sure?"

Rin nodded, "If we are going to do this together, than I think we should live together. If you don't want to, that's okay."

"Don't be stupid. I want to be able to be here for you throughout all of this. And the closer I am to you, the better. I'll call my landlord and tell him not to expect my rent next month. When do you want me to move in?"

Rin shrugged, "It's up to you Sesshoumaru. And thank you so much for doing this."

Sesshoumaru nodded and cracked a smile, "Of course."

---------

"Kags!" Sango called from her bedroom.

"Yeah?! What do you want?"

"I was planning on having Miroku over tonight and cooking him dinner. Do you want to have Inuyasha come over and we can cook them dinner together?"

"Yeah. That sounds great. I'll give him a call and I'm sure that will be fine. We'll both be done with work around five tonight. What about you and Miroku?"

"Four. But I have a lot of errands to do so how about we make dinner to eat at six. Does that sound all right for you?"

"Perfect. They'll love it. I can tell already."

"Yeah, unless we royally screw up and destroy dinner…but let's think positively."

Kagome laughed and threw her towel at Sango; which Sango then promptly caught and threw back, smacking Kagome right in the face. Sango erupted with laughter as Kagome peeled the damp towel off of her face and looked at Sango with a terror stricken face.

"You should see your face!!!!!" Sango gasped out

Kagome took a step towards Sango and dropped the towel in the hall. Sango stopped laughing and looked at Kagome, confused as to what she was going to do next. A smirk appeared in the corner of Kagome's mouth as she proceeded to sprint across the room and tackle Sango to the floor with a THUD. Kagome held her down a second as Sango struggled to get up, with no avail. She then stood and made a show "brushing herself off" and looked at Sango with a smile.

"What the hell Kags?"

"Never forget that I can do that." She said walking into the bathroom, "Go to work."

"We're not friends anymore!"

"yes we are"

"…so? That doesn't mean anything!"

"Go to work babe. I'll get everything together for tonight and when the guys come over at 6 dinner will be so perfect that they'll think we're the world's best girlfriends" she said with an excited smile.

Sango chuckled at Kagome's excitement and then grabbed her portfolio from the counter. "You're too cute Kags. I'll see you later"

"Yup. Have a good day" she called as Sango opened the door to leave.

Sango turned back, "Thanks mom, you too" she said and closed the door behind her.

Kagome finished in the bathroom and got a bowl of cereal from the pantry. She sat on the couch and flipped the TV on. She put her feet up on the table with a sigh. "Tonight will be perfect. I can't wait to see Inu's face."

Kagome smiled at the thought of the night to come and relaxed in front of the TV as she ate her breakfast.

-----------

_Authoress' note: well there it is. Sorry again about the delay. But I have some news, bad for you guys but good for me. I'm pledging a sorority this semester so the next update might take even longer than this one. And I don't mean to make everyone wait so long but it's just how that happens. Sorry. Please review!_


	19. The Preparations

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy this chapter! And make my Thanksgiving extra happy with reviews!!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Nineteen_

Flashback

Inuyasha took his final bow and the curtain fell to the ground. Kagome, from the front row, scurried into the lobby where the actors would be coming out to as soon as they were out of costume. She waited right by the barricade which read "Performers only past this point!" until she saw him walking towards her; which was when she broke the rules and ran into his arms.

He picked her up and spun her around, both of them laughing. He put her down and they kissed.

"You were amazing Yash! Your best role yet! You were born for the stage!" she gushed like a fangirl as they walked past the barricade and into the lobby, hand in hand. She stayed by his side as the people congratulated him and praised his performance, saying he was the best Macbeth they had ever seen. He thanked them all humbly and moved through the crowd accordingly. When they finally reached the door of the theatre they both thought they were home-free; but they were wrong. A graying man approached them, introducing himself as the director of a new movie that was in the works. They talked for a few minutes, Kagome listening intently to what they were saying and then it happened.

"Well, in short, I want you in my movie. Our lead just backed out and I think you are perfect for it. Can I send a script to your agent?" he asked.

Kagome and Inuyasha both took a step back; not realizing what was happening was real. "Well, I don't have an agent. But you could send the script directly to me." Inuyasha responded after a few moments."

The man was surprised, "A talent like you doesn't have an agent? Well might I suggest getting one? You're headed to the big time kid – mark my words. I'll have the script sent to you; I'll just take down your information." He said, handing Inuyasha a notepad upon which he scribbled his name and address quickly and handed it back.

"I hope that you will want to take part in this movie. It would be wonderful with you."

"Well thank you. If I may ask; if I accept the role, when would it start shooting?"

"It starts in a month and we will be shooting on location in Paris. Its long distance I know, but it's worth it to go shoot on location rather than building a Paris in our studios. And the shooting would last about six months."

Inuyasha nodded and shook hands with the man and he walked away; leaving Kagome and Inuyasha stunned in the lobby doorway.

"Inuyasha! Your big break!" Kagome squealed as they walked to Inuyasha's car.

"Six months in Paris." He said softly, "I don't want to leave you for that long Kags."

"Shut up Inuyasha, stop worrying about me. We'll be together forever, no matter how long or far we are apart. We're made for each other." She said with a smile and kissed him in the middle of the parking lot under the stars.

End Flashback

"Yash? Are you feeling okay?" Miroku asked him.

Inuyasha shook himself out of the daze he was in and stood up. "Yeah, sorry, I just spaced out for a second."

"Thinking about something important?"

"Yeah. Just remembering some things I thought I had forgotten. What time did the girls say dinner was at?" he asked, changing the subject.

"We need to be there at five thirty, dinner will be ready at six. So by my watch…we better get dressed and leave" he said, "It's quarter to five."

"Way to keep track of time Miroku! If we're late they'll kill us!" he said, hurrying into his bedroom.

He closed the door behind him and looked at his mess of a room, trying to figure out where he could locate clothes to wear for dinner. "We're staying in to eat…so it doesn't need to be too dressy" he said to himself, walking away from the closet where his suits were hanging. "But this is the first time Kagome has ever cooked for me. And Sango and Miroku are going to be there too, so maybe it should be a little dressy." He thought and looked around some more. "Damn it! This is harder to get dressed for than the red carpet!" he finally decided on a red button up shirt and incredibly dark-washed trouser jeans; it was the perfect mix between dressy and casual. He ran a brush through his long hair once or twice before slipping a pair of black shoes on and leaving the room.

"Miroku! Hurry your ass up!" he shouted, putting his coat on.

"I'm hurrying! Leave me alone!!" Miroku shouted back, coming out of his room in khakis and a green short sleeved button up. He slipped his feet quickly into his shoes as Inuyasha threw his coat at him. Inuyasha grabbed his keys and they both walked down the stairs of their apartment, locking the door behind them. They walked out into the street and hailed a cab, told the driver the girls address and prayed that he would drive fast enough to keep them from being late.

* * *

Ayame came out of her bedroom in a rich emerald green Jessica McClintok dress and spun a few times in front of Sango and Kagome.

"Ayame…you look phenomenal."

And she did. The dress was a simple mermaid cut, with white tulle at the bottom, strapless and elegant. She wore a diamond choker around her neck and a simple diamond bracelet on her right wrist. Her hair was in a side bun, messy and still elegant.

"Kouga is going to FREAK" Kagome squealed with a smile.

"You think so?" she asked.

"DUH! Have you seen your reflection?" Sango asked, wiping her hands off on a towel before walking into her room to get changed for dinner.

Ayame laughed and walked into the kitchen where a full on Italian dinner was being cooked. She saw chicken parmesan, pasta marinara with shrimp, veal marsalea. "Maybe I should stay and eat here!" she joked, knowing the answer would be no, no matter how much Sango and Kagome loved her.

"I'm gonna go change, don't leave until I'm done. I want to see Kouga's face when he sees you." She said, scurrying into her bedroom.

Sango was done getting dressed first and came out in a pair of Calvin Klein pinstripe trousers and an amethyst colored top. The top looked like a turtleneck from the front but the back was practically non-existent, as if someone had cut a huge hole in it. The tank top-esque top was the prettiest thing that Ayame had ever seen Sango wear. Her hair was pinned up into a low bun, so her hair wouldn't block the back of the dress.

"Gorgeous" Ayame said with a smile.

"Who's gorgeous?!" Kagome asked, hurrying from her room. "Wow Sango! You look AWESOME!!!"

Sango blushed, "You don't look so bad yourself. Miss Versace model."

Kagome laughed, she was wearing a yellow Versace dress. It was bordered at the strapless top, middle and bottom in a white lace and had a small yellow bow off centered in the middle. It was simple and elegant. Kagome's hair, as usual was down but Kagome had straightened it and it now hung pin straight and an inch longer than usual.

"We have some lucky men" Ayame said with a chuckle.

"Of course we do, and they better recognize!" Sango said.

There was a knock on the door and Ayame instantly recognized it as Kouga's knock. Sango and Kagome hurried into the kitchen and put on aprons, lest their clothes took away from Ayame's. They fiddled around in pots and pans as Ayame took a breath and opened the door, letting Kouga in. Ayame "hid" herself behind the door as Kouga walked into the apartment, greeting Sango and Kagome.

"You took look like you have a busy night ahead of you" he said.

"Yeah, double dinner date" Kagome said, proud of her alliteration.

"But your date is right behind you" Sango said.

Kouga turned and was taken aback by Ayame. "You look…there aren't words Ayame. I've never seen you look this beautiful."

Ayame blushed a deep red, matching the color of her hair. "Thanks"

Kouga offered his arm to her, "Shall we go?" he asked. She linked her arm around his and turned back to Sango and Kagome in the kitchen "Have a good night guys!" she called.

"You too! Make good choices!" Sango called as the door closed behind them.

There was only a few minutes between Ayame and Kouga leaving and Miroku and Inuyasha arriving. Kagome and Sango heard them hurrying up the stairs before knocking calmly.

Sango opened the door, with her frumpy apron still on and looked at them crossly, "You're late" she said with mock-anger.

"The taxi driver was the slowest driver in history" Inuyasha said, walking past Sango and into the kitchen to greet Kagome with a hello kiss.

Miroku walked in after and Sango closed the door behind him. He kissed her lightly, "It's true, he was. But you haven't put dinner on the table yet so we can't be that late, right?"

"Stop trying to save yourself Miro. It's no use with these two" Inuyasha said with a smile.

"Well, sit down and we'll bring it out." Sango said, walking into the kitchen as Miroku and Inuyasha sat across from each other at the dining room table. Kagome brought out a bottle of wine and a corkscrew and handed them to Inuyasha.

"Can you pour the wine please?" she asked, even though it was obviously not a question, but a command.

"Sure" he said, even though she had already retreated into the kitchen. He popped the cork and filled all the glasses and placed the wine in the bottle cooler in the center of the table as Sango and Kagome came out with the food, placing them all around the table. They went back into the kitchen to shed their aprons and returned and sat down next to their boyfriends, who couldn't take their eyes off of them.

"You look…" Miroku started, staring at Sango.

"…beautiful" Inuyasha finished, staring at Kagome.

They both smiled "Thanks"

Kagome looked at Sango with a sly smile and they both were thinking the same thing. _This was the best idea we've ever had._

* * *

_Authoress' Note: so…that one was longer, I'm trying to redeem myself a little. Let me know what you think! Happy Thanksgiving!_


	20. The Acceptance and The Heartbeat

**Disclaimer: I don't own it…still.**

_Authoress' Note: the reviews I've gotten have been phenomenal. So what's happening now? I don't know… you'll all just have to find out!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Twenty_

_(Oh goodness, twenty chapters already!)_

Kouga and Ayame walked down the road towards Resturante Cinque and all eyes were on them. They were laughing and smiling as if nothing bad had happened between them. They reached the restaurant and didn't have to wait more than a minute before they were seated in a VIP booth on the second floor of the restaurant. There was already a vase of white roses sitting on the table and a bottle of Cabernet chilling in a bucket of ice. Kouga let Ayame into the booth first and then scooted in beside her rather than taking the seat opposite her.

The waiter came shortly after they were seated and took their orders and left them alone. Kouga put his arm around Ayame and pulled her close.

"Having fun?" he whispered.

"It's perfect." She said with a smile, "The wine, the roses, and the dinner." She said, looking at her surroundings. She looked into the large vase of roses and ran her fingers over the petals of the flower closest to her. She felt a ribbon in the bouquet and looked over to Kouga.

"There's something in the roses" she said.

Kouga shrugged, "I don't know. Pull it out and see what's in there."

"All right." She reached back over to where she had felt the ribbon and began to slowly pull it out until she saw something sparkling coming out of the flowers. She gave the ribbon one last tug and a ring fell into her hand. It was different from the first ring Kouga had given her, this one was simpler. A plain silver band and a single large diamond in the center. She stared at it for a while, not knowing what to say or do next. Kouga took the ring out of her hand and got down on one knee beside her.

"Ayame, I know that it has only been a week or so since this last happened, but I know now that I can't live without you. I went home this week and got this from my safety deposit box. This was my grandmother's ring and my mother's ring and now I want it be yours. Please Ayame, no tabloids, no lies, no false feelings; just love. Please say you'll marry me."

Ayame looked from Kouga to the ring and then back at Kouga before smiling and leaping from the table and into his arms. "Of course!" She held her hand out and Kouga slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. The crowd around them began to clap and cheer as Ayame and Kouga kissed in front of everyone before sitting back down to enjoy the rest of their night together.

------

"Sesshoumaru Kimura." Sesshoumaru said promptly, answering his phone.

"Hi, it's me. I have a gynecologist appointment tonight and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to bring some of your stuff over when I come back."

"Yeah…but do you not want me with you at your appointment?"

"You…you want to come with me? Are you sure? It's just a routine checkup and an ultrasound."

"I want to come. I want to see our baby's heartbeat. I'll pick you up, when is the appointment?"

"I was leaving in five. Is that too soon?" she asked, sounding nervous.

Sesshoumaru looked around his apartment, everything was in the midst of him packing and the apartment was a disaster. He spotted his keys and coat sitting by the door and knew what was more important. "I'm leaving now. See you soon."

He grabbed his keys and put his coat on, locking the door behind him and walking out to the curb where he had parked his car. He climbed in and sped towards Rin's house, not wanting her to be late.

He arrived in front of her condo complex and sent her a quick text message to let her know he was waiting. She came out shortly after and climbed into the car.

"Thanks again for doing this. I'm really glad you're coming." She said.

"Of course, let me know when to turn."

"Right up here and it's on the left right after the turn." Sesshoumaru parked outside the gynecologist's office and him and Rin climbed out of the car and walked in hand in hand. Rin checked in and they sat down in the waiting room. Sesshoumaru looked around and was overwhelmed by his surroundings. He focused on Rin and being there for her rather than focusing on how uncomfortable he felt.

The nurse came into the waiting room and called Rin's name and they walked into an exam room. The machinery in the room made Sesshoumaru nervous, not understanding anything around him. Rin slipped into the robe and sat on the exam seat.

She looked over at Sesshoumaru and reached out for his hand. He moved his chair next to her and she squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"You see this machine right here?" she asked, pointing to a monitor next to her.

Sesshoumaru nodded, not knowing where she was going with it because she knew that he wasn't going to understand what all the machinery was for.

"This is what they use to see the baby. We can see the heartbeat on this screen. Isn't that exciting?"

He nodded and was about to say something when the doctor walked into the room.

"Are we ready for our first ultrasound?" he asked with a smile.

The both nodded and the exam began. When it was time for the ultrasound the doctor spread the gel over Rin's still flat stomach and placed the ultrasound wand onto her stomach and turned on the monitor.

"Well here is the baby right here in the center. And do you see those little tremors right there?" he asked, pointing to a spot on the monitor, "There's the heartbeat."

Sesshoumaru squeezed Rin's hand. As the doctor left the room to print out the picture and Rin began to redress. The doctor returned and handed the picture to Sesshoumaru and escorted them back to the waiting room to pay for the visit. Sesshoumaru beat Rin to the punch and handed the receptionist his credit card as he continued to stare down at the picture of his and Rin's baby. He signed the bill and they walked to the car and climbed in. he held the picture between the two of them.

"We need to go get a frame. This could be the first picture we put in the apartment_together_."

"All right. Perfect." She said with a smile. "But let's start by moving your stuff in. we can go to your place and load the car up and I'll help you bring things up."

Sesshoumaru put the car in gear and began driving down the street towards Rin's apartment. "No you won't. No lifting for you missy. I'll spend the night lifting boxes and bringing them up the stairs, you can unpack them if you want to help. But you aren't allowed to lift things."

Rin laughed, "You're too funny Sesshoumaru. But I love that about you. I will unpack tonight and you will transport and lift. But let's start at your place so I have something to unpack as you go back for more."

"Sounds good."

"We're in for a long night aren't we?" Rin asked with a giggle.

"Oh yes. Yes we are." Sesshoumaru said, putting the picture of his baby on the dashboard, continuing to steal glances at it as they drove down the street.

-------

"I cannot possibly eat another bite" Sango said, pushing herself away from the table. She stood and began to clear the table. Kagome rose from her seat to help but Miroku beat her to the punch.

"Go sit in the living room with Inuyasha Kagome. I'll handle this."

"If you're sure" Kagome said, standing up and walking into the living room with Inuyasha. She flipped on the style network and sat back to watch some fashion updates until they were ready to watch a movie.

Sango and Miroku cleared the table and then settled in the kitchen to wash and dry the dishes. Sango handed him a towel and pushed him in front of the drying rack.

"I don't dry" she said with a smile and began to fill the sink with water and squeezed the bottle of sawn into the sink. She waited until the sink was full of bubbles before she started sponging off the dishes. She picked up a handful of suds and blew them into Miroku's face with a fit of laughter.

"Uncool Sango!" he said with mock-anger. He grabbed a handful of suds and rubbed into her hair; causing a bubble fight to erupt in the kitchen. After a few loud and soapy minutes later Inuyasha walked into the kitchen to see what was happening only to see Miroku and Sango kissing in the kitchen covered in bubbles. He disregarded it and returned to Kagome in the living room; leaving the soapy couple to themselves.

-----

_Authoress' Note; Yay! An engagement, ultrasound and bubbles! Please review!_


	21. The Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, I only own my story.**

_Authoress' Note: sorry for the lack of Inu/Kag in the last chapter. Although they are the main couple in this story, I wanted to go places with my other couples before getting back to them. But don't worry; to make it up to you this chapter is going to be mostly Inu/Kag. Yay! Enjoy and review please!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Twenty-One_

Inuyasha walked back into the dark living room and sat down beside Kagome. She snuggled up next to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Did you get me water?" she asked, looking up at him.

"No, sorry. But I didn't want to interrupt what was going on in there."

Kagome's eyes lit up and she scooted up so she was sitting level with Inuyasha. "What?! What's happening?" she asked like an excited schoolgirl.

Inuyasha laughed at her excitement and kissed her. "Go see for yourself, but try to be subtle; I know that's hard for you."

"Shut up Inuyasha" she said playfully, getting off the couch, "You know I'm a master of stealth." And with that, she fell to the ground and crawled from the couch to the archway of the kitchen. Inuyasha stifled his laughter as she army-crawled across the floor and stuck her head into the kitchen to see what was happening. It was even harder for him not to laugh when she started kicking in delight when she saw what was going on. She then scurried on her hands and knees back to the couch and climbed back onto the couch next to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! They're making out! And they're covered in bubbles!" she whispered, although her whispering was much louder than a normal whisper.

Inuyasha placed a finger in front of Kagome's mouth to quiet her. "I know Kagome; I was the one who saw them first. And please, be quiet."

"Shut up! I am quiet!" she exclaimed.

"No you aren't!" Sango and Miroku's voices came from the kitchen.

Kagome looked to Inuyasha who was looking at her with an I-told-you-so face, "I wasn't lying. And now they're angry at you. Do you see what you did?"

"We're not angry" Sango said with a smile and she led Miroku from the kitchen and down the hall. They went into Sango's room and closed the door. The door opened again a few seconds after and Sango stuck her head out, "And Kagome?"

"Yeah Sango?"

"Peek on us again and you're gonna get it. Love you!" she added the last half cheerfully and closed the door behind her.

"I thought I was being stealthy" she said with a pout.

Inuyasha laughed at her, "Stupid. If you had seen yourself you would have know that you were being anything but stealthy."

Kagome shrugged and cuddled up to Inuyasha once more. She leaned up to his ear and laughed.

"What?" he asked, now knowing what to do with her.

"Do you think they're going to have sex?" she whispered and then collapsed into a fit of giggles.

Inuyasha looked at her with a stunned look on his face, "Kagome…how old are you?"

"Old enough."

"That's what I thought. Come here, let's just watch some TV until you are too tired to function anymore…maybe then you'll quiet down a bit."

Kagome nestled herself under his arm and frowned, "That's mean Inuyasha. I don't like you anymore."

Inuyasha pulled her into a tight hug, "You love me"

"So what? I don't_like_ you one bit!"

"I know you don't Kags, I know you don't. Now watch TV."

They sat on the couch for an hour or so before Kagome began to fall asleep on Inuyasha and he wouldn't allow her to keep telling him she wasn't tired. He helped her up and led her to her bedroom. He sat her down on her bed and flipped the lights on and began rummaging through her things to find a pair of pajamas. After some digging he managed to find pink shorts and a white tank top and tossed them to her.

"Put your pajamas on Kags. It's time that you went to bed. When you're dressed, come out and I'll say good-night to you." He said and he started to leave the room.

"Why are you leaving?"

"Because you're changing."

Kagome smiled, "You're such a gentleman Inu. Just stay here, turn your back if you want but stay in here."

Inuyasha smiled, "All right. Hurry up and put your pajamas on."

Kagome quickly changed and then walked over to Inuyasha and hugged him from behind. "Will you stay with me tonight Inu?" she asked into his back, "Please?"

Inuyasha turned around and held Kagome in his arms, "If you really want me to, I would be happy to."

Kagome nodded and pulled him towards the bed after he flipped the lights off. Kagome turned the lamp on her bedside table on and plugged her cell phone into its charger. Inuyasha laid his silver blackberry on the bedside table next to her dark pink RAZR and unbuttoned his shirt. He took the shirt off and put it on the floor next to the bed before slipping under the sheets with Kagome in just his jeans. She pushed herself into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

_I forgot how well she fit me. _He thought as he held her close, _it's like we're two halves of the same person._

Kagome began to toss and turn and Inuyasha pulled her closer. "Just go to bed Kagome. Close your eyes and go to bed."

Kagome took a deep breath and although Inuyasha had been expecting her to yawn and go to sleep, what Kagome did surprised him.

"I don't wanna close my eyes." She began to sing in a hushed voice, "I don't want to fall asleep…" she began to drift off, Inuyasha could tell how tired she was but he smiled as she kept trying to sing. "Cause I'd miss you baby…"

Inuyasha pulled her close, "And I don't wanna miss a thing" he finished, singing in her ear. "Now please go to sleep."

"Cause even when I dream of you…" she managed to sing before sleep finally claimed her and she relaxed against Inuyasha's body.

Inuyasha laid his head close to hers and smiled as he took in the vanilla smell of her hair, "…the sweetest dreams will never do. I'd still miss you baby…and I don't want to miss a thing." He finished before he allowed himself to fall asleep with the girl of his dreams in his arms.

* * *

Sango and Miroku lay in Sango's bed, still awake. Their bodies intertwined and the moonlight shining in the window reflected the skin of their naked bodies. (_A/n: yes everybody. They had sex.)_ Miroku kissed Sango's forehead and pulled her close to him. He looked past her to the clock sitting on her bedside table, who's red numbers blared the time at him. "2:45"

"It's really late Sango. Do you want me to go?" he whispered.

Sango wrapped her arms around him, "No, don't leave. Please."

Miroku smiled at her and kissed her lightly, "you don't need to ask me twice. The longer I get to stay with you, the happier I am."

Sango smiled and nestled her head under Miroku's chin. "I really do love you, you know that right?"

"Yes, I do know that. And I hope you know I love you too."

Sango nodded, "Did you like dinner?"

Miroku chuckled, "almost as much as I liked desert."

Sango punched him in the chest, taking him by surprise. "Don't make me regret anything Miroku Kashi! Or you will be sorry!"

"My apologies Miss Takai." He said with a smile and Sango simply shook her head.

"You're unbelievable."

"Is that bad?"

She smiled and closed her eyes, "Not exactly. I'm going to bed. Good night."

Miroku's grip on her tightened, as if someone was trying to steal her from him, "Good night Sango."

* * *

Rin and Sesshoumaru sat awake in Rin's living room, looking at their surroundings. As much as they had tried to unpack everything, and despite all of their work, the living room was filled with unopened boxes and the apartment was in disarray.

"Well, it's now…" Sesshoumaru looked at his watch, "Three in the morning. Do you want to keep going and sleep all day tomorrow? Or go to sleep now and then have lives tomorrow?"

Rin weighed the two options in her mind and then shrugged, "It's up to you Sess. I'm wide awake right now so I can keep going. And Donatella never needs me on the weekends so I could sleep tomorrow if that's what ends up happening. It's up to you really, if you have plans for tomorrow, we can just go to bed."

Sesshoumaru thought for a second, "Well, if I was going to do anything tomorrow it would be to tell my half-brother about this. But that could be any time I suppose. I'm not tired either so I say we just keep going and stop when we are too tired to stand anymore."

Rin popped off of the couch and smacked her knee in enthusiasm, "Then lets get going! We have no time to waste!"

Sesshoumaru shook his head, "I don't know where you get your energy from Rin, but I'm sure glad that you have it cause I don't."

Rin pulled him off of the couch and pointed to several boxes with "BEDROOM" scrawled on them with red sharpie. "Those can go into the bedroom and once they're in there open them up and start taking the stuff out of them. I'll be in soon to help put stuff away. Can you handle that?"

Sesshoumaru scoffed, "Of course I can. Who do you think I am?"

Rin smiled and simply pointed to the bedroom, "Then get started!"

Sesshoumaru took the boxes into the bedroom, leaving Rin alone in the living room, surrounded by a mess she had no idea how to start cleaning up.

She walked over to her china cabinet and opened up the cabinet doors underneath where she stored random items that had no place. She dug through until she found a small picture frame. She dusted it off with her sleeve and closed the cabinet doors. She took the back off of it and taking the ultrasound picture off of the mantle, slipped it into the frame. She refastened the back and turned the frame around to see the picture of her baby. She placed the frame on the coffee table and smiled.

"It doesn't matter how messy it is in here. It's home because of you." She said, placing a hand on her stomach as she peered into the bedroom to see an obviously disgruntled Sesshoumaru unpacking box after box. "It's home."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: a little longer than usual so I hope you liked it. Please review!!!_


	22. The Role

**Disclaimer: I only own my ideas.**

_Authoress' Note: thanks for all your feedback! I'm probably going to be wrapping this story up soon, tying up the loose ends. But don't worry; there is probably a sequel in the works as well. _

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Twenty Two_

"Move in with me" Kouga said as he sat with Ayame in his living room eating breakfast. "We're getting married but I don't want to wait until then."

Ayame smiled, after all the time they had been together she had been waiting for this question almost as much as she wanted a proposal. "Of course Kouga! I would love that!"

"Good. It's still early and we have the whole day ahead of us. Is it too soon to go pack up your room today?"

"I don't think so. I'm sure Kagome and Sango will be happy for me and they won't be upset or anything. We can go get some boxes and then head over. Are you excited?"

Kouga smiled, "Of course. I'm also a little worried."

Ayame frowned, "Why are you worried?"

"Because I'm going to have to clean my apartment to make room and I think that might be an impossible feat."

Ayame pushed him playfully, "You had me worried there for a second, I thought it was something serious. Don't worry about cleaning, we can do anything!" she said with motivational speaker style enthusiasm.

Kouga laughed and stood up, extending a hand to help her off the couch. He pulled her up and they kissed quickly in the doorway before walking outside. They walked down the street holding hands and laughing, eager to be closer than they already were.

* * *

"Done! Finally done!" Rin said, looking at the now spotless apartment. All of the boxes were emptied and thrown away and everything had a place. She fell back on the couch next to Sesshoumaru and smiled. "And now that it's ten in the morning, I think it's time we go to sleep for the night."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "That seems like the right thing to do. Let's turn in for the…day." He finished with a smile. He reached his hand out to her and pulled her off of the couch. He led her back to their bedroom and closed the door behind them.

* * *

Kagome woke up to find she was alone in her bed. She sat up sleepily and rubbed her eyes, looking around her room once again. The only thing that struck her as wrong in her room was the fact that it had somehow become clean. Kagome smiled and shook his head, "Inuyasha is something else." She said to herself before climbing out of her bed and padding softly to her vanity. She brushed her hair and opened the door, peeking her head out and looking for Inuyasha. She walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the kitchen where she saw Inuyasha standing over the stove.

He heard her coming and turned to see her walking sleepily into the kitchen. "Good morning sunshine. Breakfast is almost ready."

Kagome smiled, "Wait until the press hears that you're a homemaker. That would be some front page stuff."

"Shut up you. If I'd known you'd make fun of me then I wouldn't have done anything. Next time I won't be so nice."

"Learn to take a joke Yash. You know I appreciate it a lot. I'm glad that you are here to do this for me. It's wonderful."

Inuyasha smiled and handed her a plate of eggs and bacon, "Take this into the dining room and I'll be there in a sec. I want to get this washed cause I know that none of you girls will do it."

Kagome frowned and then shrugged, "You're right. I'll wait to eat until you come in, okay?"

"All right. You do that."

She walked out of the kitchen and set her plate down on the table and waited for Inuyasha to finish in the kitchen. Inuyasha piled the frying pans into the sink, ran the water and squeezed the soap onto them. As he picked up the sponge his phone began to ring.

He wiped his hands on a towel and answered the phone, "Inuyasha Kimura."

Kagome looked into the kitchen and saw Inuyasha talking on his phone she didn't know who he was talking to or what he was talking about but she noticed that he looked very happy about something. She saw him hang the phone up and quickly wash the dishes before hurrying into the room and sitting next to Kagome.

"Kagome! You will not believe what just happened!" he exclaimed, putting his plate down on the table.

"What?"

"That was my agent, I auditioned for a movie before I left to come here and he called to tell me that I got the part!"

Kagome jumped out of her chair and into Inuyasha's arms. "Yash! That's amazing!"

"There's only one problem Kagome." he said softly, almost hoping she didn't hear him.

Kagome leaned back into her seat, "What?"

"The movie is filming back in Tokyo and I need to fly out tomorrow."

Kagome looked at him and tears began to well up in her eyes, "You're leaving me again?"

"Kagome, you left me. And we knew that I wasn't staying in Italy."

Kagome got up and walked to her room and returned with the copy of Entertainment International that he had given her and began to read what he had written to her.

"_I let you get away from me once Kagome Higurashi; and now that I have a chance to be with you again and I'm not going to give it up; I won't lose you again. And I am willing to do everything it takes to get you back. Please give me a chance to prove that I will be worth it. I'll go whatever you want: quit acting, move to Italy, anything at all. Name it. _Was this just a joke to you?! Were you just saying that to make me take you back?! Do I mean anything to you?!"

"Kagome you don't under –"

"Just leave." She said, looking at the ground.

"Kagome-"

"Just…leave"

Inuyasha walked to the door and slipped his shoes on. He looked back at Kagome with hurt eyes, "Kagome, just try to understand me please. We can talk later once you've calmed down. Please have dinner with me tonight."

"I'll think about it." She said coldly, "But please, just go."

Inuyasha nodded and left the apartment and Kagome stood in the same place until she heard the door at the bottom of the stairs close. She picked up the plates and dropped them into the sink. As she was washing them Sango and Miroku emerged from Sango's room, both wearing sheets as clothes. They scurried happily into the kitchen but their moods darkened when they saw Kagome scrubbing dishes and crying. Sango pointed to the bedroom and Miroku hurried back in to get dressed.

Sango approached Kagome and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong babe?" she asked, pulling her away from the sink.

"Inuyasha got a part in a movie." She said softly.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

She shook her head, "its shooting back in Tokyo…he's leaving tomorrow."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: well…there's trouble in paradise. What's going to happen next? I know! But you will all have to wait! Please review and let me know what you thought!_


	23. The Changes

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: oh man, what is going to happen?! I guess you will all have to find out!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Twenty Three_

Inuyasha walked back to his apartment in a daze and he walked up the stairs in the empty apartment and began to pack his things to return to Tokyo. He threw everything aimlessly into bags, all the while thinking about what he was going to do about Kagome. He had been waiting for a role like this since his career began, and if Kagome could leave him for her career then he could choose his career…it only made sense…didn't it?

Once everything was piled into his luggage he sat on his bed and looked at the now empty room. He was ready to leave Italy, but he wasn't ready to say good-bye to Kagome. He knew that she wasn't ready to leave Italy, it held too many opportunities for her – but he also knew that he had more opportunities in Tokyo. He was thankful for the empty apartment so he could be alone with his thoughts.

He heard his phone ring and reached into his pocket and pulled it out. it was a text message and he turned the ring off and opened the message. It was from Kagome and it made his heart sink.

Inu-  
I can't handle seeing you. Have a good, safe flight.  
XoXo,  
Kags

He threw his phone across the room and for a moment thought that a tear was going to escape from his eye. He had never been so annoyed at himself in his life. He didn't know what was wrong with him, and he didn't know what he was going to do without seeing Kagome before he left.

He got off of the bed and retrieved his phone and texted Kagome back and then went out into the living room to fix himself a drink.

* * *

Kagome's cell phone beeped and she flipped it open to read her new message.

Kags-  
Do whatever you feel is best. My plane leaves at 9 tomorrow morning from Terminal 371. Please come see me one more time.  
I Love You.  
Inu

Kagome looked at the message and thought a moment before she walked into her room. She opened up her laptop and typed furiously for a while until she found all she needed to know. She picked the pages off of the printer and looked them over, making sure that what she was doing was right. She grabbed her keys and purse off of the dining room table and walked out of the apartment into the Italian sun.

* * *

Ayame and Kouga arrived at the apartment with their arms full of boxes just after Kagome had left. They walked into the mess of a room and began to assemble the boxes and Ayame began shoving clothes into suitcases as Kouga began to clear off her dresser and putting everything into the box he was holding. Once he filled a box he wrote "Dresser" on it in black sharpie. He took another box and continued to pile it with makeup, perfume and picture frames and after two more boxes all that was left to pack up were her mass of clothes.

After the room was packed up after hours of work, Kouga and Ayame sat on her bed together and looked around. Kouga put his arm around her and she smiled.

"It's weird to think that this isn't my room anymore. Everything is moving so quickly, and I'm glad that it is…because I know I can keep up." She said with a smile. "Let's go move this stuff over to _our_ place."

They stood up and Kouga made a call to have a van brought over to the apartment so they could bring all of Ayame's stuff over in one big trip. as Kouga helped the man load the van, Ayame wrote a note to Sango and Kagome, leaving her key on the counter with it. When all of the boxes had been loaded, Kouga stood in the doorway, waiting for Ayame to leave. He reached his hand out to her, "Ready?"

She looked around one more time and nodded, taking his hand, "Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Sango came out of her room for the second time that day, she had finally gotten dressed and she walked out into the kitchen where she saw Ayame's note.

_Sango and Kagome,_

_Kouga has finally asked me to move in with him and considering we will soon be getting married, I was more than happy to accept. The wedding will be in a few months and I would be honored if you two would be in my wedding party. I love you both so much and I couldn't have better friends. Once I'm moved into Kouga's you have to come over!_

_XoXo,  
Ayame_

Sango smiled, happy for her friends. It certainly would be a loud quieter without him around but she knew that Ayame would be happy living with Kouga. she knocked on Kagome's door, but found that she wasn't there. She walked back into her room where Miroku was still laying in bed.

"What's up?" he asked, sitting up.

"Ayame just moved out."

"What? Why? Where is she going?"

"Kouga asked her to move in with him! It's so happy. Well, they're getting married so moving in isn't as important as that, but I know that Ayame has wanted to move in with Kouga for a while now. And she finally got what she wanted."

Miroku smiled, "That's good. Do you think it's time to get out of bed?"

Sango looked over at her alarm clock, "Well, it's three. So maybe it's time to eat breakfast or something." She said with a smile.

Miroku climbed out of bed and walked over to her and gave her a kiss, "Sounds good. Where do you want to go?"

"Let's just go to the café down the street. The one we went to on our first date. Do you remember?"

"You were wearing pink" he said with a smile.

Sango laughed. "That's right, and it was the first and last time you will see me in pink."

"I love you" he said, still smiling.

Sango kissed him, "I love you too."

* * *

As the sun began to set, Sesshoumaru and Rin started to wake up. Sesshoumaru was awake first and he stretched his arms above his head and turned on his side to see the still sleeping Rin beside him. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face as she slowly began to wake up. Her big brown eyes opened slowly and she smiled when she found Sesshoumaru already awake.

"Good morning" she said cutely, moving himself closer to him.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, "Good morning. Do you want something to eat?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I could really go for a chicken fajita and some strawberries."

"Pregnancy cravings already?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah, pretty much. Do you mind?" she asked meekly.

Sesshoumaru climbed out of bed, "Not at all. You stay right here and I'll be back." He walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find everything necessary to make chicken fajitas. He took everything out and put it on the counter. He then found some strawberries and put them in a bowl with cool whip and chocolate and brought it in to Rin while she waited for the fajita to be done. He made the fajita and put it in the frying pan to cook. He looked down the hall to see Rin sitting up in bed eating her strawberries with a huge smile on her face. The fajita was done quickly and Sesshoumaru cut it and brought it into her. He climbed into bed and handed her the plate.

Her eyes lit up, "Thanks! I love you!" she exclaimed, taking a bite of it. She picked up a strawberry and placed it on top of the fajita and took a bite, making Sesshoumaru recoil a little bit.

"I'm sorry, I'm pregnant and I'm gross." She apologized, knowing that she was grossing him out.

"You're not gross." He said, kissing her on the cheek, "You're perfect."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: I think that the next chapter will be the last one. But I'll see how it works out. please review and let me know what you think!!!_


	24. The End

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Rumiko Takahashi does.**

_Authoress' Note: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one too. I am planning on ending this within the next couple of chapters, but the possibility for a sequel is high if enough people ask for one. So in the meantime, enjoy this chapter!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Chapter Twenty Four_

Ayame dropped the last of her boxes in the doorway of the apartment and sat down on it. She took a deep breath and let it out as Kouga came into the room from the bedroom where he had been unpacking boxes. He pulled up a box near her and sat down as well. They looked at each other for a while, the silence being welcomed instead of being awkward. They sat together in silence, treasuring it as a very rare moment of relaxation.

"It's weird, you know?" Kouga finally said. Ayame looked up at him, taking a minute to register what he had said.

"What's weird Kouga?"

"I was just thinking about life before you. I came to Italy to get famous and date as many beautiful Italian women as I could. When I met you, that goal went completely out the window. I didn't care about dating a lot of people; I just wanted to be around you. Now we're moving in together and getting married…and I never would have been able to predict this." He reached out and took her hand in his, "and I'm very happy with how everything has happened."

Ayame smiled and gave his hand a squeeze, "I am too. And as much as I would love to sit here all night, we really have our work cut out for us here. We should get back to unpacking now that all the boxes have been moved in."

Kouga stood up and put his coat on, "Forget unpacking, let's go out to dinner."

"Kouga, we can't. There's too much to do! I'd be a mess going out now; all I would be able to think about is a messy apartment."

Kouga shook his head and threw her coat at her, "No, let's go. We'll go to McDonald's, like we used to do. It will be a short trip; we both just need to get out of here. Be can come back and buckle down, I promise. Please come out with me."

Ayame sighed and shook her head, putting her coat on, "Fine, you win."

Kouga smiled and opened the door, "I always win."

* * *

Sango and Miroku sat at the café, eating and chatting happily as the sun slowly set behind them.

"Now that the Versace campaign is over, I am probably going home. I have a plane ticket back to Tokyo in a week." Miroku said as he picked at what was left of his food.

Sango nodded, she knew that he wasn't going to be in Italy for long and she thought that she had accepted that. But now that she heard it said aloud, she realized that she wasn't okay with it.

"Is that so?" she said simply, eating a fry off of her plate. "Time flies, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it sure does. But I've been thinking that I might delay my flight home for a while. I never really got to see the sights around here, I was always working. So…"

Sango smiled, she has never met anyone like Miroku before and she was ecstatic that he would stay in Italy longer just to stay with her. "Well, I suppose if you need a tour guide I could show you around. I think living here for six years is enough to qualify me to do that."

"Well thank goodness, I don't know what I would do if I was wandering around Milan without someone to show me the sights. I would be so lost, literally."

They both laughed and looked at each other across the table. There was a short moment of silence between them as they picked at their meals.

"So…"

"So what?" Miroku asked.

"Well, how much longer are you planning on staying here?" she asked finally, even though she didn't want to know when he would be leaving because she wouldn't see it as how much longer she would have with him, she saw it as a countdown to when he left. She watched Miroku across the table and she smiled as she could see the wheels in his head working as he thought of the answer.

"Well I was thinking maybe one or two more-"

_Damn. Here I was thinking that he would be staying long and he's only staying for a few more weeks. Maybe he really does just want to see the sights, he's not staying for me, he's staying for Italy. Damn, I'm such a fool!_

"years." He finished, and he waited for her to process what he had just said.

"Wait…years?"

"I want to be with you as long as possible. As long as there's something here for me in Italy, I'll be staying here."

Sango's smile beamed as she leaped from her chair and into Miroku's arms. "You're staying!" she exclaimed, not caring that she was disrupting the atmosphere of the entire apartment. "I love you!"

* * *

"Attention everyone, Flight 4287 to Tokyo is boarding now from Terminal 371. Please have your tickets ready for boarding" the flight attendants voice announced over the terminals loudspeaker. The people in the surrounding area picked up their carry-on luggage and walked over to the boarding ramp with their tickets in hand. Inuyasha looked around the terminal before sighing and walking to the boarding line, dragging his carry-on behind him. His long white hair was tucked up into a hat that he wore low over his aviator-covered eyes. He didn't want to deal with people recognizing him any more than he didn't want to deal with the extra work of planning a private jet.

He pulled the duffel bag off of the floor and onto his shoulder. He tucked the magazines he was holding under his arm and pulled his ticket out and had it ready to hand to the lady at the terminal. As he reached the beginning of the line he felt someone tap his shoulder. _Oh God, I don't need another fan right now._ He thought before slowly turning around. Standing behind him was a teenage girl clutching a magazine.

"Are you Inuyasha Kimura?" she asked softly.

Inuyasha looked around and then back to the girl. "I am. But please don't scream or make a scene or anything. I really just want to take this flight without people taking my picture."

The girl thought for a moment and then nodded, "Ok. Well, how about I don't say anything, you sign my magazine and when we get off the plane you take a picture with me."

"Fine." He said, taking the magazine from the girl and pulling a pen out of his bag. He quickly signed and handed it back to her.

"Thanks. Are you traveling alone?"

"Seems that way." He answered with some remorse. He didn't want to be stuck with this chatty girl the whole flight and the most he could wish for was that she was seated far away from him on the plane. The girl didn't say anything else as the line moved towards that boarding ramp. As he was about to hand the flight attendant his ticket he felt another tap on his shoulder. He turned around in a huff, not wanting to deal with that girl anymore. Standing behind him, laden with a large carry-on, wearing dark sunglasses and a large white sunhat was Kagome. She had her portfolio slung over her shoulder with her purse and in her hand was a plane ticket.

"What…what are you doing?" he asked, pulling her out of line with him.

"You're not the only one who has to travel incognito Inuyasha, people here know me just as much as they know you." She said with an attitude.

"That's not what I meant, you know that. I mean what are you doing here?"

Kagome held up her ticket and shrugged. "I was thinking…Tokyo _is_ becoming one of the biggest fashion capitals in the world. So I decided that it would be good for my career to try it out. I've already sent my stuff to modeling agencies and I'm going over for meetings."

"Oh. That's exciting."

"And…I wasn't letting you away from me again. This is going to work Inuyasha. We are both going to do our jobs and be successful. And we are going to work, as a couple. I'm going to give everything I've got to you."

Inuyasha smiled, not being able to contain himself, "Kags, this means the world to me. This is going to work, I know it is. Now give me one of those bags and let's get on this plane."

He took her duffel bag from her and they got back into line. After some seat trading, they managed to get seats next to each other and they got ready for the long flight ahead of them. They talked for the first couple of hours, before they began to get drowsy. They put the armrest between them up and Kagome situated herself, resting her head on Inuyasha's chest. He put his arm around her and rested his chin on her head.

* * *

Sesshoumaru woke up alone in bed to a less than pleasant sound coming from the bathroom. He climbed out of the bed and walked over to the bathroom where Rin was in a compromising position over the toilet. He had read about morning sickness in one of the pregnancy books that Rin had bought him but he didn't think that it would be as bad as this. He walked over to her and sat down on floor beside her. Tears were streaming down her face as she continued to throw up, Sesshoumaru reached out and began to rub her back.

She leaned back to sit down once she had finished throwing up and Sesshoumaru flushed the toilet for her, careful not to look into it. He walked to the sink and got Rin's toothbrush from the cup, ran it under water and put toothpaste on it. He sat down next to Rin again and handed her the toothbrush.

"Thanks" she mumbled, brushing her teeth thoroughly until her mouth no longer tasted of vomit. She spit into the toilet and handed the toothbrush back to Sesshoumaru, who handed her a cup to rinse with. He helped her off the floor and carried her back to the bed. He fluffed the pillows behind her as they both sat up in bed, watching the sun come up.

"Sorry. That was gross." She said softly.

"No, you eating a fajita with strawberries was gross. This was just something that is going to happen, and I'm prepared to deal with it. For the next seven months I'll be here for everything. Don't worry about being gross. Except when it comes to changing diapers…that one is all yours."

Rin laughed and pushed him playfully, "I don't think so Sesshoumaru, you aren't getting off so easily."

"All right, all right. You win. I'll change diapers. But not often!" he said, pulling her close to him and sitting in silence watching the sun rise over the Italian city.

* * *

"Attention passengers we are now making our final descent into Tokyo International Airport. The time is 10:00 am. On behalf of the entire flight staff, I hope you have enjoyed your flight and thank you for flying International Air."

Kagome stirred and sat up, yawning and stretching her are above her head. She fastened her seatbelt and then shook Inuyasha awake.

"Yash, wake up. We're landing." She whispered.

He woke up slowly as Kagome fastened his seatbelt for him. "Yash, your hair." She whispered and he quickly tucked his hair back under his hat, as Kagome handed him his sunglasses. They rearranged their things and got ready to exit the plane.

"You know what the best part about time changes?" Kagome asked.

"What?"

"Getting here only an hour after we left, it's incredibly convenient."

The plane touched down and taxied to a stop. The captain turned off the fasten-your-seatbelt sign and Kagome and Inuyasha stood and waited to get off of the plane. Luckily for Inuyasha, the fan he had encountered in Italy had forgotten about their agreement and they were able to get off the plane with no difficulty. As they stepped off the plane Kagome took Inuyasha's hand in her own as they walked down the ramp to the airport.

* * *

In Milan, Kouga and Ayame sat at a McDonalds eating fries and planning their future together.

* * *

At a small café in Italy, Sango and Miroku shared a piece of tiramisu as they cuddled together, ready to make their relationship last.

* * *

In their apartment in Milan, Sesshoumaru and Rin laid in bed together watching the sun come up and talking about their baby.

* * *

In Tokyo, Inuyasha and Kagome arrived to a crowd of paparazzi waiting for them at the end of the terminal. They smiled happily as they moved through the crowd, unbothered by the cameras for once, because they were together and nothing could make them unhappy.

**The End.**

* * *

_Authoress' Note: There it is. The end. There __will__ be an epilogue… that much I know. But in terms of a sequel I don't know. If enough people ask me for one then I will be MORE than happy to write one. But I'm not going to write one if people don't want to read it. So that's about it. PLEASE review. Merry Christmas!_


	25. The Afterwards

**Disclaimer: I only own my plot.**

_Authoress' Note: Here it is…the epilogue! Enjoy and review!_

**Easier Than Love**  
_Epilogue_

**One Year and a Half Later**

"Kagome! I can't find Ayame's tiara! Have you seen it?!"

"It's on the vanity next to my bouquet!" Kagome shouted into the room where Sango was helping Ayame get dressed. Kagome picked up the skirt of her emerald green bridesmaid dress and ran into the room. She slipped her black pumps on and walked over to help Sango with Ayame.

"Kags, my necklace is on the table over there, can you get it?" she asked as Sango arranged tiara and veil over Ayame's intricate updo. Kagome got the necklace and fastened it around Ayame's neck before putting her own necklace and bracelet on. Kagome and Sango both took steps back from Ayame and sat down on the small sofa that was in the room.

"Ayame, you look amazing" Sango said with a smile. Ayame's dress was white as snow, the sweetheart corset top was completely covered in beads and the long tulle train had intricate beaded flowers all over it. She was wearing a simple diamond necklace and bracelet, identical to the ones Sango and Kagome where wearing.

Ayame beamed, looking at herself in the mirror. "Has Inuyasha gotten here yet? He is going to make it, isn't he?"

"His plane landed a half hour ago and he is dressed and on his way here as we speak. He wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Good. Because otherwise you would find yourself without an escort and we can't have that. It wouldn't be perfect if we were missing a groomsman."

"Ayame, I love you but you're a little crazy. Everything will be perfect so you don't need to worry about it. The flowers are here and perfect, the dresses are perfect, the church is perfect and the day is perfect. There is nothing you need to worry about."

The door flew open and a little girl toddled in. "Auntie Ayame! You look boo-tiful!" she exclaimed, attempting to hug Ayame through the huge poofy dress.

Ayame bent down and picked up the small girl. "Well Miss Lucia, you look beautiful too." She said, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek, causing her to erupt into giggles. The door opened again and Rin walked into the room, already showing signs of her second pregnancy.

"Mamma!" Lucia cried and Ayame put her down and she toddled over to her mother who picked her up with minimal difficulty.

"You look wonderful Ayame. I would have loved a dress like that."

"Yeah, who would have thought that one of the world's most prominent businessmen and Donatella Versace's personal assistant would opt for a wedding with the justice of the peace instead of a big fancy to-do? You surprised us all" Sango said.

Rin looked down at her hand, the ring made up for the fact that her wedding was small and simple, "I know, but Sesshoumaru wanted to get married when we found out I was pregnant again, it just felt like the right time to do it." She said, putting Lucia on the ground and walking over to Ayame.

There was a knock on the door and Miroku poked his head in, "Are you girls almost ready?"

"Miroku! Get out! You can't see us!" Ayame exclaimed.

"My eyes are closed Ayame, calm down. I was just asking a question, don't kill the messenger."

"Yes, we're ready" Kagome said with a giggle, "Ayame's just a little crazy right now."

Miroku chuckled, "I doubt she's as crazy as Kouga is acting right now. But I guess its perfect then. I'll go tell the father that we're ready to go. See you out there." He closed the door behind him and Ayame collapsed on a chair.

"Deep breaths Ayame, this is what you've been waiting for." Sango said, "But we have to go now. I can almost hear the music changing.

They grabbed their bouquets and Rin left with Lucia to go sit in the sanctuary. They filed out of the room and waited behind the church doors. Kagome peeked in as Sango and Miroku walked in and saw a very anxious looking Kouga standing at the altar. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Inuyasha standing next to her. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

"Yash!" she softly exclaimed. "You're here!"

"I wouldn't miss this. And besides, you've been in Italy for the past week; I wouldn't miss seeing you for anything."

The doors opened again and Kagome took Inuyasha's arm and they walked down the aisle together. They parted ways at the altar, Inuyasha stepping beside Miroku and Kagome standing next to Sango. They all waited anxiously as the doors swung fully open, revealing Ayame to Kouga for the first time. She walked down the aisle and took her place next to Kouga as the guests sat.

The ceremony was over as quickly as it had started and the wedding party climbed into the stretch limo to go to the reception.

"So Miroku, how's Italy?" Inuyasha asked, not having talked to his best friend in a little while.

Miroku turned to Sango and smiled, "Bellisimo"

"Oh, now you're turning Italian on me, I knew I shouldn't have left you here."

"If you hadn't taken him with you, I would sneak to Japan and kidnap him" Sango said, squeezing his hand.

"I would have been so sad without my two roommates and no one there. Him deciding to stay saved me a lot of lonely nights."

The whole limo "awed" (except Miroku and Inuyasha) and then burst into laughter.

"Yeah, she says that but she wouldn't let me move in until last month" Miroku said with a laugh, earning a light punch from Sango.

"what about you two? How's Tokyo?" Ayame asked, being the only one who had never been to Tokyo.

"It's great. Yash just finished his movie and I'm working for Noriko Fukushima. Pretty much, everything is going great."

"And you're living together right?" Ayame asked.

"Well, Kagome didn't really have a place to live when we got to Japan. So she just moved in with me, it seemed like the easiest thing to do."

The limo came to a stop in front of the country club and they all got out and walked over to the photographer to get the pictures taken before going in to the reception. They walked out onto the green and stood under a willow tree for the first dozen pictures and they then moved to in front of a fountain, Ayame holding the train of her dress up high as they walked.

"How does it feel to be on the other side of the camera?" Sango asked as they walked.

"It's weird. And of course I'm intimidated by the three models and a movie star in the pictures, all of whom are used to being photographed."

"We're just the odd men out" Miroku said, "Photographers unite!" he said with a laugh and Kouga and he pounded knuckles.

When the pictures were finished a golf cart was brought out onto the green to transport them back to the country club. The room was full of talking and eating people as they made their grand entrance into the room and Kouga and Ayame entered as man and wife for the first time. They sat and ate dinner before Ayame and Kouga took the dance floor for the first dance. "I Need You" flowed out of the speakers as they swayed slowly in t he center of the dance floor. When the song was half way over, Ayame waved the rest of the wedding party onto the floor. The couples walked onto the floor and began dancing as Lucia decided that she wanted to dance and escaped from Rin's arms and walked onto the floor, with Sesshoumaru following her. Rin joined them on the floor, the three of them dancing together amongst the wedding party.

Kagome pressed her head against Inuyasha's chest as they danced. He held her closely as the song slowly came to an end. They all stopped on the floor and staring into the eyes of the person they loved, all couples shared a kiss before the floor was open to the entire reception.

Although most remained on the floor, Kagome and Inuyasha returned to the table and sat down to eat their dessert. Inuyasha reached into his jacket pocket and closed his fist around the small box that was in there.

_I know you're not allowed to propose on someone else's wedding day. But Kagome is in for a big surprise tomorrow._

* * *

_Authoress' Note: so the consensus is pretty much I'm writing a sequel. I would be happy too but I'm just going to let everyone know now that it will not be for a little while, while I tie up the ends to some other stuff, so just keep a look out for it! Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you all at the sequel!_

_-Lady Kea_


	26. The Authoress' Note

_**Authoress' Note**:_

_For those of you who haven't seen it, as a new year's present to all of you, i have posted the first chapter of "Easier Than Love"'s sequel! yay!_

_It's called "Harder Than Life" and if you asked me for a sequel then you should go check out "Harder Than Life", it'll be a good time. _

_ thanks to all of you who showed such enthusiasm about wanted me to continue this story with a sequel. i love you all!_

_ and remember...reviews make me really happy. :)_

_-**LadyKea**_


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